Sat still and quiet at the table during one of Jennie's art classes, Jisoo concentrated with difficulty as she wrote on her notepad. Moans, gasps, cries and heavy breathing from the previous night echoed in her head, distracting her mind from the task at hand.
Jennie and the Count were sat on the other side of the room, facing her, in front of easels as they painted their subject: Jisoo. The man was delicate with his brush, all soft flicks of the wrist and effortless details as a realistic picture appeared on the canvas. Meanwhile, Jennie was rushed and too obvious, paying no attention to detail as she dragged her pencil harshly across the canvas in a poor sketch. Child's skill, at best.
Once he had observed Jennie's technique, the Count stood from his chair and sat behind her, placing his big hand over her dainty one to guide her pencil. The other sneaky hand from the side groped the heiress's breast shamelessly, grunting that fuelled Jisoo's anger and disgust.
The heiress whispered, "Stop," her struggling arms caused dark scribbles to appear on the canvas as the pencil was still under both of their grips, the handmaiden's face purposefully erased from view.
***
"I spit it out without chewing! All because of you!" The Count roared, shaking Jisoo violently at the shoulders.
"If you frighten her, she'll close up as hard as a clam." Jisoo responded plainly.
As the two talked on under the archway, Jennie leaned on a tree, looking up at them and eavesdropping on their conversation.
"And please," she heard Jisoo scoff, "Don't ever again put my hand on your tiny joke of a cock."
Jennie stifled back a snort, and watched Jisoo stomp away from him. The Count lit up a cigarette, "You see?" he asked, directed at Jennie, "If you don't give the impression you want this marriage, she may throw a fit and refuse to go forward. Be more convincing when you pretend to love me."
"I can't do it." Jennie said with confidence, no hesitation could be heard through her tone.
"What?" The Count turned to her in shock, glaring at her through the tree branches.
"I want to quit."
He sighed in frustration, moving to look away from her, "What's with you all today?" he mumbled. "Why?" He asked, facing the heiress again.
"I hate everyone. My mum, dad, aunt, uncle, you and..." Jennie stopped, the Count questioning her, "I don't like Jisoo either," she lied.
"You feel sorry for her?" He asked, but Jennie looked away from him, guilt visible in her eyes. "What is it with women?" He took a long drag from his cigarette in annoyance. "You know what that poor Jisoo said about your Ladyship?" He said accusingly, pointing at the heiress, "That you're too naive to get it even if someone pulls on your nipples. That she was nice out of pity, but you ate it up. That you were so gullible! That naive servant's face..."
Jennie fumed at his words, her anger bubbling in her chest. She looked away from him as he continued ranting.
***
"Yes... you will love him."
After she had slapped and kicked the hysterical Jisoo out of her room, Jennie stomped her way over to her closet, using the step ladder to retrieve the circular box from the top cupboard. Her head clouded with sadness and anger, she didn't think twice before marching down the grand staircase in her pyjamas with no shoes and running out the front door, tears streaming down her face as she thought, "I wish I'd never been born."
Hearing a commotion from the heiress's room, Jisoo's curiosity got the better of her and so she decided to be brave and open Jennie's bedroom door. Noticing the heiress's absence, Jisoo, still whimpering slightly, walked further into the room on light steps to see the top cupboard door open. Confused, she looked around the room and saw how Jennie's favourite doll was tucked under the duvet on the bed.
Tightening the noose around her neck, Jennie lay on her stomach upon the thick branch of the cherry blossom tree, the rest of the rope coiled and tied securely around the wood. "I wish I'd never been born," she thought again, before swinging herself by her arms while her legs dangled as she hesitated to let go. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let herself drop, pulling her grip from the branch above her and waited.
She waited for the pain, the noose tight around her neck and the struggle for breath, but it never came. Opening her eyes, she looked down and rolled her eyes in frustration. "Let go," she ordered, lifting her gaze away from the woman beneath her.
Jisoo was the one to catch her, one arm wrapped around her legs in a tight grip and the other supporting the bottom of her feet as she cried hysterically. "Miss, I'm sorry!" The handmaiden whimpered out, looking up to the woman.
"Let go!"
"I'm sorry, Miss!" Jisoo cried, "Don't die. I'm sorry." Her breathing was uneven and ragged as she cried harder.
"What are you sorry about?" Jennie asked calmly.
Jisoo struggled under the weight of Jennie, but remained holding her. "I tried to trick you into marrying that bastard." She admitted through a strained voice, "I was going to put you in a madhouse and run off." Heavy tears poured down her cheeks. "Don't die. Don't get married, Miss!"
Jennie looked down at the bawling woman. "Kim Jisoo, are you worried about me?" Jisoo nodded desperately, her face scrunched from crying. "I'm worried about you."
Jisoo continued to whimper until she realised, her face dropping in shock. "How do you know my full name?"
"You think you're tricking me?" Jennie stared down at her softly, "You're the one being tricked. You're the one bound for the madhouse." Jisoo stumbled back after Jennie just dropped the bombshell on her. "I was going to lock you up in there under my name, then I'd become you and run far away with him." The heiress admitted into the innocent brown eyes below her, "I won't say sorry, since you tried to trick me too." She smiled softly at her, more with her eyes than her lips, but Jisoo still remained in complete shock.
"That fucking son of a bitch!" Jisoo shouted angrily, accidentally dropping Jennie in the process as the older woman gripped at the tight rope around her neck, legs flailing as she struggled to breathe. Jisoo left her dangling as she raged below her for a few seconds but soon realised and supported her again. "Oh! Sorry, Miss."
Back in the heiress's room, Jisoo sat at the table as she wrote a letter in deep concentration. Jennie, now wrapped in a pink silk robe, gently placed herself next to Jisoo in one of the chairs and smiled lovingly at the younger girl writing one of her first letters. She put a gold-plated bracelet on top of the letter as Jisoo continued writing, watching her as she subconsciously picked it up and bit down on it.
'I hope this letter find you well. This is Jisoo. I'm writing to inform you of a change of plans. I decided to team up with the Lady Jennie. As such, I'm now in need of all your help. I'm enclosing an item as advance payment.'
Boksan did the exact same thing when she received the letter.
***
"Remember the basement."
Lowering her eyes down at her uncle's comment, Jennie bowed slightly as she watched the car pull away from her down the gravel driveway. Determined in her stride, she walked towards her lover who stood on the porch steps with her hands clasped at her front. Jisoo looked innocently beautiful.
"Do you want to go somewhere nice?"
Dressed in their travel-wear with suitcases packed in each hand, Jennie led the young handmaiden into the library whilst she put the suitcases down by the menacing snake statue near the entrance. Jisoo, still unfamiliar with the library, jumped back in surprise as she remembered the statue from before. She tiptoed around the snake as Jennie wandered off, disappearing behind rows of bookshelves. Jisoo took in the library's dark, mahogany walls, the intimate lighting and the creepy aura of the room. A small, white decorative figure stood by itself on an expensive-looking, wooden side table. She had to bend down closer to get a better view of the mysterious ornament.
It was of two naked people, close in a sensual, intimate position: a rather unusual position. The creepy vibes grew stronger.
Jisoo's attention was back on Jennie once the older woman had returned with a book in hand. Moving to stand in front of her, Jisoo took the book from the heiress's outstretched arms. A nervous look was struck upon her face as Jisoo opened the pages.
"You didn't teach me to read Japanese." Jisoo whispered, watching as Jennie took off her headdress. The older woman didn't reply, only took in a sharp breath and glancing down at the book before looking Jisoo in the eye. Jisoo turned the paper a few times before a horrifying picture displayed across two pages. A woman lay naked on her back, freakishly resembling Jennie, with a gigantic octopus attached at her centre, its tentacles trailing up her body and over the woman's breasts as she threw her head back in pleasure, cheeks flushed and eyes hooded. Blue spinel earrings were visible on the woman's ear.
Jisoo felt sick to her stomach. She raised her eyes slowly to Jennie. "Did that bastard draw this?" Jisoo whispered, her voice low and angry as her hands began to shake in rage. Jennie eyes had become red around the edges, her mouth parted slightly as she fought back relentless tears. "Is this what you've been reading to that dirty old man and those gentlemen?" A hot tear fell from Jennie's eyes with her jaw clenched tight. She reached out to Jisoo who was about the rip the page in half, but Jisoo snatched it out of her grasp, her nose flaring and eyes emotional. She ripped out the disgusting page, shredding it to tiny pieces before stomping it under her foot.
Her breathing was harsh and laboured now, the anger overpowering the hundred other emotions she was feeling in that moment. Jisoo marched her way through the rows of bookshelves once she had received a silent reply from Jennie, having to witness the woman hurt and vulnerable as she realised her innocence was taken at such a young age for the benefit of those perverted men. The enraged handmaiden pulled the stacks of books off of the shelves, picking up random ones and tearing them up. She ripped up scrolls and more pornographic novels throughout each row of bookshelves, Jennie trailing behind her as she watched Jisoo use all of her strength to destroy the books that had destroyed her. The heiress could only watch as the young woman dragged a penknife through layers of paper, slashing at the coloured pictures that cost a fortune; now instantly losing its value through every fingerprint.
With ink pots in each hand, Jisoo pushed up the glass case of the display in the middle of the room, the lid smashing on the wooden floor as she poured and splashed the ink completely ruining the displayed scrolls. Jennie had tried to stop the younger girl a while ago, but had given up soon after she realised Jisoo's anger and determination to destroy those books.
Jennie had ultimately decided to help her lover by removing the tatami mats which had water underneath. With piles and stacks of ironically colourful books scattered around them, Jisoo began shoving and kicking them into the water aggressively, slamming down the dirty scrolls as she went. Jennie had gathered two pots of red ink from Kouzuki's desk in the middle of the room and chucked them, splattering red ink over the soaked books, watching it seep into the abominable pictures. The heiress took this chance Jisoo had given her in getting revenge on her uncle because of her hatred for the books. After scooping some more books into the water, Jennie joined Jisoo in lifting up her dress to her knees and stepped into the little pool, sinking the books deeper into the darkness where she would never see them again.
Jennie stood and watched as Jisoo took the metal ruler from Kouzuki's desk, marching over the the snake that greeted them at the door, and swung the ruler hard at the neck of the snake. It shattered into pieces; the final step to freedom.
The daughter of a legendary thief, who sewed winter coats out of stolen purses, who was a thief, pickpocket and swindler. She is the saviour who came to tear Jennie's life apart.
My Jisoo. My Kim Jisoo.
***
A/N
Word count: 2155