"Maria? Stephanie? Summer?"
Jisoo was lying on her stomach on Jennie's bed, wearing her glasses and a messy bun as she scrolled through her phone. Her feet were in the air, freely swaying from side to side. Jennie took a seat on the bed across her, stretching her legs in front of her. After Jisoo had offered to bring some milk for her before she fell asleep, she had seen the list of names Jennie was listing on the piece of paper. Eventually, she never got to get the milk and laid on the bed to search on her own.
"Oh, what about this? Beatrix, she who brings happiness." Jisoo looked at Jennie with a questioning glance, waiting for her reply.
Jennie merely shrugged and shook her head, taking the tip of the pencil between her teeth. They had been searching for names for a while now, and it was draining Jisoo of her energy.
She rolled her eyes before she went back to her phone, exhaling noisily, clearly discontented. Jennie giggled and offered a shy, but sincere smile. "After a hundred names and you still haven't chosen one! Why don't you just name her Karamat Theophilia?!"
The both of them stared at each other, before they bursted into a loud and boisterous laughter. Jisoo's eyes brimmed with tears, and her smile tugging her lips all the way to her ears, stretching them to their full length. She held her sides and she gasped for air in between laughters.
When their laughs dwindled down to titters, Jennie asked, "Is there really such a name?"
"Well, of course. Karamat means miracle, and Theophilia means loved by God. A miracle loved by God." She replied.
Jennie squinted her eyes. "You're lying."
"It's true. See?" Jisoo showed her phone, and there they were, Karamat and Theophilia, labeled under the category "Unique Names", and they definitely were. Jennie's mouth formed a small 'O' at it.
"What about Lily?"
Jennie stopped at her giggling and turned to stare at Jisoo, who had her eyes on her phone. "What?"
"Lily. Or maybe something similar, like Lilies? It's my favorite flower and I've always wanted to name my daughter after that." Jisoo paused and looked at Jennie, her face now lost of the smiles and laughter, but an image of seriousness. Jennie grew quiet hearing the question. She knew they still weren't in the best of terms, and she thought naming her child after Jisoo's idea would spark as an offensive stance for Jisoo.
It hung for several seconds in the air before Jisoo once again laughed at her reaction. "I'm just kidding, slut."
Jennie's heart skipped a hundred beats. For a moment, she thought Jisoo was serious about it. She was a little bit relieved Jisoo had the initiative to lighten the mood inside the room.
"How about places?" Jennie suggested.
Jisoo's head perked up. "Places! That could be an idea. So, where were the places you've been to?"
Jennie looked down on her lap. "I've only been to Los Angeles and here, in New York. I didn't have the luxury of travelling, given my job."
"Oh, right." Jisoo almost felt guilty about it. She was about to open her mouth to suggest another when Jennie spoke.
"Vienna."
"Huh?" Jisoo tilted her head.
"I've always wanted to go to Vienna. Vivienne. What do you think?" Jennie caressed her stomach and smiled.
Jisoo gazed over at the pregnant woman and softened ever so slightly. "I think it's a beautiful name." Her body was tensing as she fought the temptation to touch her belly, when the door to the room flung open, and Grace came strolling in. Jisoo grumbled as this was the third time she unintentionally disturbed them. Grace stopped in her tracks seeing Jisoo on Jennie's bed.
Grace whistled. "What do we have here?"
Jisoo stood up from the bed, and pointed a finger at Grace. "Don't ask. And what are you doing here?"
"The question is, what are you doing here? I help Jennie take a bath every night. Gotta help the mother with all that heavy baby bump."
Now that certainly made Jisoo widen her eyes. So does that mean Grace knew about her scars?
"Naked?" Her eyes once again seeing the dark lines that covered Jennie's back, and the possible causes to such deep wounds. And it hurt too much to think how she could have gotten to have such marks on her body. Who would have gotten the audacity to maim Jennie?
"O-of course not! I just h-help her sit on the tub and she removes her clothes from there."
But she knew it was a lie, seeing Jennie stiffen in the corner of her eye, and how Grace had hesitated before answering her question. Grace never stuttered when speaking. Never.
Jisoo grew indifferent for a moment and plastered an unnatural smile to her face, before leaving the room. "Okay."
They were hiding something, and Kim Jisoo would always get the information she wanted. Whenever and whatever way she wanted it.
.
.
It soon became a restless morning for Jisoo. She was sure Grace knew about Jennie's scars. At times, she would find herself staring at Jennie's stained back, and no matter how many times she would close her eyes, the marks could never be unseen again. So maybe she did care about her, at least some little part of her did. But that little part clouded her whole being, telling her she needed to know what caused them.
And that little part made her call Grace to her home office.
"Please, have a seat." The woman gestured to the closest chair to her table. Grace sat with her back straight and her hands folded neatly on her lap.
"Yes?"
"What is a lie, Grace?"
Grace flinched in surprise, her knees turning rigid to keep them from trembling, but after being her housekeeper for more than a decade, Jisoo saw right through her transparent mask.
"Would you please care to explain?" Jisoo took a deep breath as she slammed her laptop shut.
"A lie is an untruth, something false." Grace answered. "Why do you ask, Jisoo?"
"You lied to me last night." Jisoo leaned forward on her table.
Anxiety crashed over Grace, making her every cell consumed with worry. But she practiced the lies and the cover-ups over and over again in her head, she couldn't possibly let them dissipate now. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"It's about Jennie. And you told me you help her bathe every night."
"Yes that is true."
Jisoo stood up from her chair and walked around, positioning herself in front of Grace, sitting on the table. "What made me suspicious was that you help her sit inside the tub. But standing up from the tub requires more strength than sitting down. And I doubt if you leave her helpless inside the tub without being with her until she finishes her bath."
"I don't know what you're getting into. I help her sit inside the tub, and that's all there is to it." She looked up to Jisoo, but her head snapped to the side seeing the intent glare of Jisoo's eyes.
"I know she has scars."
Grace had stopped breathing then. Jisoo's words had choked her, wrapping themselves around her throat, making it impossible to speak. Jisoo knew, but how? She should never had told Jisoo about helping Jennie every night. She should've just kept her mouth shut. Because now, there was no way out of this.
"You know I hate it when people lie, Grace. You don't want to see my bad side again, don't you?" Jisoo asked with a little irritation flowing through her at the woman's attempt to beat around the bush.
And Grace never wanted to see it ever again. Jisoo went hysterical when she knew her husband lied to her, but about now? She had promised Jennie she would hide it from Jisoo, but in this game, Jisoo had the power, she had the upperhand. From the beginning, Jennie should have known it was a losing battle. They were both fools thinking they could hide it.
"What do you want me to tell you?" Grace asked, but she knew what Jisoo's answer would be.
"The truth."
Forgive me, Jennie.
***
Jennie was sitting on the couch, reading a book while stroking her belly. She was nearing seven months and it somehow brought her to a distraught state thinking of where and what she would do after she gave birth. She would have to find a job that was for sure. Though Junmyeon had promised to give her baby all his wealth, it wasn't her money for the taking. All the expenses paid by his money would all be for the baby, not for her. She sighed, maybe it was time to search for a new cafe to be a waitress in.
Her thoughts were disrupted when the door from the hallway slammed tight loudly, and out came Jisoo with Grace holding her back. She seemed to be struggling to hold Jisoo. Jennie raised her eyebrows as she placed the book down, standing up to walk up to them.
"Jisoo! Jisoo, please!" Grace held her elbows from behind. She harshly pushed her away and marched towards Jennie.
Jisoo's eyes were flooded with too much emotion now. Anger, despair, hurt, and betrayal of some sort. Jennie wasn't aware.
Then it all happened too fast that Jennie was not sure if her head moved, or if it was Jisoo's hand. She looked at Jisoo, utterly empty, not knowing what she was supposed to say or do. She committed to memory the feeling of physical pain, her body's scars were the vessels of it, but this was different, this was of bigger magnitude. She had just tasted the deepest pain one could ever receive, one from a person she had learned to care for the past few months, and would eventually end up leaving the most invisible, yet colossal scar internally.
Slowly, she felt it. The sting on her left cheek that were a thousand small needles that were continuously pricking at her skin. But what's worse was that it only seemed to have stayed and intensified. And then the realization hit like a bullet to the head.
Jisoo had just slapped her.