"The pancakes are cold by now," Lisa spoke while lying on her front after spending a good, comfortable long minutes of just lying on her bed and staring into each other's eyes like nothing else would ever matter anymore. The side of her face was half-buried unto the softness of her pillow.
Jennie chuckled softly as her fingers were running on Lisa's back in small circular motion, from Lisa's bare shoulder down to the curve at the bottom of her spine. Jennie was also lying on her front, her head was tilted, facing Lisa. Her left arm was tucked comfortably beneath her, already feeling a little numb and tingly. The crumpled sheet was spread unevenly over their bodies. Because despite the strewn clothes on the floor and the bareness that they'd both enjoyed gloriously moments ago, both of them still felt shy and reserved to bare it all casually as they both laid with contentment at the moment.
"The boys have probably devoured all of it before giving it a chance to turn cold, I think," Jennie said. She was talking about Leo and Luca.
Lisa laughed and said, "Yeah. That's not completely impossible," and bit her lip after. "Have I told you how beautiful you are, Nini?" she asked.
Jennie grinned, showing off her gummy smile that Lisa adored so much. "You might have, yes. Quite a few times already, actually," Jennie said cockily, earning herself another bemused laughter from Lisa.
Lisa reached out and tucked some strands of jet-black hair behind Jennie's ear, carefully touching Jennie's soft cheek with the tip of her thumb.
"You're beautiful, Jennie Kim," Lisa muttered, her brown orbs wandered and marveled at Jennie's cat-like eyes. "So beautiful, that sometimes I wonder how on earth did I ever get so lucky," she whispered and offered Jennie a smile so warm and tender, it made Jennie's heart skipped a few beats.
It was painful and beautiful, the way the frequency went from calm to static to frantic. And Jennie was glad that it was. Because it hurt so good and she wanted that. Only Lisa could ever give her that feeling, that sense of being alive and she loved it. All of it.
"You mean how on earth did I ever get so lucky when you walked inside The Era that day?" Jennie replied. "Because that day changed everything in my life, Lili."
"Ah, yes." Lisa nodded. "You couldn't take your eyes off me that day," she said and smirked playfully.
Jennie's eyes dilated and squinted in a matter of seconds as she realized what Lisa was trying to imply. "Because you were nosy, loud and annoying," Jennie pointed out, laughing.
"And you were curious and interested," Lisa replied with another smirk.
"Oh my god, Lisa!" Jennie pushed herself up a little. The sheet slid down a little, showing the side of her butt cheek. "Where did all that confidence come from?" she demanded. "It wasn't there when you tiptoed coming down the stairs a while ago."
Lisa laughed out loud. She loved it when Jennie would react that way. Shocked, scandalized and defensive all of a sudden. Especially when those cat-like eyes would dilate and look at her like she was another level of annoying.
Lisa pushed herself up by her elbow, closed their gap and kissed Jennie on the lips soundly.
"From the fact that you love me?" Lisa said and grinned playfully.
Jennie tugged Lisa's lower lip between her teeth, inflicting just the right amount of pain and waiting for Lisa to protest. And when Lisa did, Jennie smiled and released it, and claimed it once again.
"I love you, Lili," Jennie said and rolled over and pinned Lisa beneath her.
....
"So, you lied to me."
It wasn't a question. Jisoo wasn't asking and it made Chaeyoung winced on her seat. She threw Jisoo a furtive glance and saw that Jisoo Kim was looking all serious. Her jaw was set, her eyes were sharp and looking straight ahead and her lips were sealed tightly. Even her knuckles were turning white for gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. Jisoo looked tensed and mad.
The air around them turned thick all of a sudden. With a strong mixture of vomit odor and air freshener, which Doona insisted they should spray, emptied the cannister, after she cleaned the car, herself, out of embarrassment, in order to outstenched the acrid odor of her vomit. The result wasn't the most pleasant of odor.
They were driving along Mapo-gu, with Lisa's place as their destination in mind. Because they all agreed after a not-so-deliberate and hasty discussion, that that was where they could find Lisa and Jennie. Jisoo was driving as it was her car they were riding on, with Chaeyoung riding shotgun and Doona in the backseat, with her arms across her chest, looking curious and somewhat irritable, from Jisoo to the redhead.
Chaeyoung knew what Jisoo was talking about. It had been nagging her eversince she saw the article. Not so much about the bomb that went off exactly, namely Lisa and Jennie's affair, no. Or the bigger bomb that was Lisa's identity being revealed unceremoniously by some desperate attention-seeking, privacy-invasive person who Chaeyoung had no idea who, yet. Because at the moment, Chaeyoung Park's biggest concern (and this was shocking to her, actually, because why would she even care, right?) was the biggest bomb sitting just a few inches from her left. Jisoo was slowly evolving into a ticking bomb in Chaeyoung's eyes and she was scared that Jisoo would go off in front of her, because of her.
"I had to do it," Chaeyoung said, trying so hard not to sound apologetic but didn't sound convincing enough. She felt miserable. Lying wasn't really her forte.
"I can't believe you lied to me," Jisoo replied, shaking her head as she did so.
Disappointment was laced on Jisoo's voice and evident on the way her eyes had darted towards Chaeyoung for a split second and back at the road ahead again. As if looking at the redhead was a painful task to do at the moment. And for a fleeting second, Chaeyoung felt her heart sunk all the way down to her stomach. It would've been so much better if Jisoo would just yell at her and would engage her in another bout of unsophisticated exchange of arguments like what they did back at the hospital after Jisoo's fake passing out. At least, that was engaging.
"What was I supposed to do?" Chaeyoung asked, now unable to hide her own disappointment in her voice.
Jisoo sighed rather sharply. "I don't know, Park. How about you could've trusted me instead of taking me for a fool?" she said. "I asked you, didn't I? I can't believe how you could look me in the eye and then lied to me."
Park? No one had ever called her Park before, Chaeyoung thought to herself. It had always been Chaeyoung. She had always been Chaeyoung or Chipmunk. Or Chaeng. Or sweet Roseanne. Alice would call her 'Little Rosie', sometimes. Her Dad would call her 'baby' most of the time. But never Park. She had never been Park. Unless she would count the number of times some of her old teachers would call her by her family name back in Melbourne.
But Park, right now, was another level of disappointment thrown at her by a Kim. And it was honestly condescending from someone who she had kissed goodnight with. It was offensive and highly aggregating. But she had to keep her calm, Chaeyoung convinced herself. Otherwise, what was the whole point of kissing Jisoo Kim goodnight?
"I did not take you for a fool, Chu," Chaeyoung said a little too gently, it was unnerving her. "You know that," she added in a somewhat pleading voice that it made her cringe.
Why she was pleading with Jisoo Kim was beyond Chaeyoung. Especially when the raven-haired Jisoo was looking particularly smug and disengaging from her. And despite the fact that they were sitting only inches apart from one another and Jisoo was still wearing the pair of pajamas she lent her. Heck, she even smelled like her shampoo.
"No, I don't," Jisoo retorted stubbornly.
The stubbornness was starting to get under Chaeyoung's skin as she looked at how Jisoo's jaw was set strongly and her brows furrowed.
"Suit yourself," Chaeyoung said dismissively as she dialed Lisa's number for the nth time.
"I can't believe it," Jisoo said, shaking her head as she earned an annoyed eye-roll from the redhead. "Lisa is a princess? Like a real-life princess? I've met some diplomats from Thailand and even had the chance to brush shoulders with their King, once. But Lisa..."
"Is the King's daughter and I lied to a lot of people about that, too. But nobody gives a shit because people lie all the time, you know? Please get over it already, Jesus!" Doona interjected. She clearly looked like she's finally had enough listening to the two women's exchange of banter. Plus the hangover was kicking in in full throttle. She felt like throwing up from the pounding of her head but thought against it. Jisoo Kim will kill her.
"It's Jisoo!" both Jisoo and Chaeyoung corrected Doona but avoided each other's eyes, anyway.
"Yes, I know!" Doona replied with an eye roll. "I was talking about the bearded man? People call him when they're frustrated. You two ever heard of that? Because the way you, two, are fighting like girlfriends in front of me right now is frustrating and a whole lot of annoying and I can't stand it anymore! I'm not having it," Doona said.
"We're not--!"
"--girlfriends. And waking up and finding out that Lisa is a princess after being told that she's not before going to bed is not something I can get over with quickly," Jisoo said angrily.
Doona shrugged. She had never seen two people obviously oblivious about their feelings for one another. It was funny (should they had been on a different and lighter situation) and somewhat annoying. But now wasn't the time to point to them the obvious, of course, Doona told herself, because aside from the fact that both women were obviously still tiptoeing and hopping around each other like teenagers with raging but confused hormones and what with the revelation of Pokpak's identity greeting her morning, Doona definitely didn't feel like doing anything that would require thinking and would involve arguing with an angry Jisoo Kim at the moment. She just really wanted to sleep the day away.
"Alright! Alright! I'm just saying," Doona said, raising her hands in front of her. "But you, two, should stop that. Seriously. Stop it right now. It's annoying. It's cute, but it's annoying. I hate things that are annoying and cute. Especially when my head is pounding like the drums of hell." Also, it wasn't helping that Jisoo's car still smelled like vomit after she emptied a cannister of freshener to eliminate tye stench. It was a stupid idea. But then again, it was her fault that it was, so Doona knew not to complain about that or risk herself being thrown out of the car by Jisoo Kim. Because the woman, despite her angelic face, looked scary and intimidating when provoked.
"Sorry," both women said at the same time and caught each other's eyes for a split second before Jisoo looked outside the window and Chaeyoung went back to fiddling her phone again. She was cancelling calls from the crew and Alice and still trying to get hold of Lisa's line, which was futile.
They fell into a ringing silence as they were waiting for the pedestrians to cross the street and the light to turn green.
"How did they find out, though?" Chaeyoung asked after she dropped the device on her lap out of frustration. Lisa was still unavailable.
"Somebody did their homework, obviously," Doona said, now leaning back to her seat with her eyes tightly shut and her fingers pressing on her temple.
"Yes. But who?" Jisoo asked. "And why does Lisa have to hide her identity?"
"You can ask her yourself once we get there. I'm sure she can explain things better than us," Chaeyoung told Jisoo. "I wonder why she's still not picking up, though? I've been calling her nonstop eversince we left the house."
"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Doona said.
"What is obvious?" Jisoo asked curiously.
"She's with Jennie. She's not taking any calls because she's with Jennie," Doona replied, with an air of someone explaining that one plus one is two.
"Yes. But she could at least pick up her phone just once so that I could at least give her a heads-up before we barge in in her place, unannounced," Chaeyoung argued.
Doona stifled a huff and shook her head. "Like I said, it's obvious," she said dismissively.
"You know what? For someone close to Lisa, you seem pretty calm about this whole thing," Jisoo said out of annoyance. "And please get your feet off the upholstery? It's bad enough that we're inhaling your vomit right now."
"Jesus, you're cranky," Doona commented but still took her feet off the leathered seat. Cranky Jisoo was a scary Jisoo. "Anyway, it's not like I'm not upset or anything about this whole thing. But there's no point getting all worked up for something that's bound to happen, you know? Pokpak can't hide who she is forever. That's what I've been telling her for years. She can't just run away from who she is. That's just absurd," Doona continued.
"She wanted to live a normal life, Miss Doona. You know that," Chaeyoung replied in Lisa's defense. This wasn't the first time that she and Doona Bae differed on their opinions about Lisa's decision.
"By hiding and running away from herself?" Doona asked. "I'm sorry but that's stupid. The only way to free yourself from yourself and anyone, for that matter, is to accept who you are and, I don't know, be free?"
"Whose side are you on, really?" Jisoo butted in. Because as much as she didn't like the fact that Chaeyoung lied to her, she didn't like it more when Doona was arguing with the redhead.
"Oh. So, we're picking sides now?" Doona replied to Jisoo. "Because I thought that you wanted to know the truth and here I am, giving you glimpses of the truth. You hated her when you found out she lied to you about it, didn't you?" Doona nudged her head towards Chaeyoung.
"No, I don't. Hate is a strong word," Jisoo told Doona in the rearview mirror.
"You heard that, Chaeng? Your girlfriend--"
"She's not!" Chaeyoung protested.
"--doesn't hate you," Doona continued as if Chaeyoung didn't interrupt her. "You can now stop looking so disappointed with yourself because it's not your fault, honey," Doona told Chaeyoung and brought her attention back to Jisoo once again. "And to answer your question, Miss Kim: My loyalty lies with Pokpak. Chaeng's, too. Her Royal Highness knows that," she told Jisoo and made a face after. "And it's still weird calling Pokpak 'Her Royal Highness'. No wonder she detests it."
"You can park there. That's Lisa's," Chaeyoung told Jisoo as they were approaching the curb, pointing the cherry red Impala beside the bricked two-storey building.
"No media and paps. Good! At least they haven't found Pokpak's place yet," Doona said before she hopped out of the vehicle enthusiastically after Jisoo parked the car next to Lisa's car, leaving the two women with a tensed silence.
"Hey, listen. I'm really sorry I lied to you about it." Chaeyoung took the opportunity to apologize to Jisoo a while after Doona slammed the car door behind her.
Jisoo sighed and gently shook her head. "She's right, though," Jisoo said, talking about Doona, "It's not your fault. I would do the same for Jendeuk if I have to. In fact, I may have done it a lot of times for her without me realizing it, now that I think about it," she told the redhead as she turned the ignition off. "It's what we do for the people we love, I guess. We protect them."
"So, are we cool?" Chaeyoung Park asked tentatively.
"I'm still wearing your pair of pajamas, Park. And I haven't thrown you out of my car yet. Of course, we're cool," Jisoo answered with a smile.
"Thanks," Chaeyoung breathed out with relief. "What do you think will happen now?" she then asked.
"At this point? I don't know anymore. Lisa's identity will surely play a huge role now that it's out and she and Jendeuk have been outed. This is going to be my Dad's biggest nightmare, I'm telling you. I wonder what he will do to control the damage this time," Jisoo said and leaned back on her seat. She looked wary and tired all of a sudden.
"We need to move, Chu. Or Miss Doona will start nagging and calling us 'girlfriends' again," Chaeyoung suggested as she pushed her door open after she noticed how Doona was eyeing them suspiciously. Jisoo followed suit.
"Which we both know is impossible to happen," Jisoo said as soon as she caught up with Doona and Chaeyoung at the bottom of the stairway. "Right, Park?"
But it seemed like Chaeyoung didn't hear what Jisoo said because she asked to no one in particular, "Should we ring?" when she first reached the topmost landing and she was staring at the door security device beside the jamb.
"What are you talking about? You didn't ring yesterday. You just went straight in," Doona replied impatiently.
"Yes. But Jennie's still probably inside and... you know..." Chaeyoung hesitated. "I mean, out of respect for..."
"You know Lisa's door passcode?" Jisoo asked out of curiosity.
The redhead nodded. "Lisa gave it to me. It's for when she's away. She'd usually ask me to look after her place and her cats when she's somewhere else..."
Jisoo nodded and hummed a non-committal "Ah."
"Please don't tell me this is another issue and you're going to fight about it in front of me again?" Doona asked in an exasperated, dragging voice.
"No," both Jisoo and Chaeyoung replied in unison.
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me," Doona said and squeezed herself between the two to ring the doorbell with so much passion. "I'm doing the honors"
....
"Are you expecting anyone?" Jennie asked when they both heard the doorbell ringing persistently.
"No," Lisa replied but looked unsure. She wondered if she had ever asked Bobby anything that would require his presence on the second floor today.
They were sitting around the kitchen island and devoured the cold pancakes over a hot cup of coffee and chocomilk (Jennie insisted that she would reheat the drinks). Lisa excused herself and went for the door. She took a peek at the peephole to check if it was Bobby, her assistant, or some mailman and was surprised to see a group of people she had never expected to show up at her place altogether.
"Who is it, Lili?" Jennie called from the kitchen.
"Surprise guests, I guess?" Lisa replied and pushed the door open, revealing the three women in satin pajamas and all of whom were looking anything but comfortable at the sight of her.
Jisoo was staring at her with wide eyes and mouth agape. The Chipmunk looked like she was still contemplating whether she would offer Lisa her usual sunshiny smile or a hesitant hello and then settled with a too-jovial "Hey, Shutterbug!" And Doona... Doona Bae looked harassed. Her short hair was crumpled, the set of buttons of the pair of pajamas she was wearing, which Lisa recognized at once was Chaeyoung's, were uneven and without ado, Doona walked past Jisoo and Chaeyoung, walked straight into Lisa and her confused look, darted her eyes behind Lisa's shoulder where Jennie was standing and then brought her bloodshot, weary eyes back to Lisa.
"What's up?" Lisa asked.
"We have a problem, Shutterbug," Chaeyoung instantly proclaimed and admitted herself in, pulling Jisoo with her.
"We," Doona pointed her finger to everyone within her vicinity, "meaning you, Pokpak," Doona said, finally pointing her finger at Lisa and her eyes darted once again at Jennie. "The two of you, actually. But, more on you, really," she told Lisa and elbowed past her to have a closer look at Jennie.
"Hello! You must be Jennie?" Doona asked the petite beauty. "I mean, of course, you are Jennie. My name is Doona, by the way," she said and offered her hand to Jennie for a handshake.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doona," Jennie said as she took Doona's hand and shake it. "Lisa told me about you," Jennie added. Lisa did told her about Doona Bae after they got dressed and after Jennie asked Lisa how she ended up at Irene's party last night.
"Oh, no. The pleasure is mine. Although, I can't say I was pleased that you and this Pokpak left me at the party last night," Doona said and made a face at Lisa.
"I'm really sorry, D," Lisa said immediately.
Lisa looked genuinely apologetic that Jisoo was still finding it hard to believe what she had found out about an hour ago. It was as if everything about Lisa had changed from Jisoo's perspective in a matter of an hour. From the way Lisa's hair was bunned to the way her toes would curl against the cold floor.
"Chu promised to take you to your hotel, though? Didn't you, Chu?" Lisa asked Jisoo who looked embarrassed that Lisa caught her staring.
"Y-yes! Yes, I did," Jisoo stuttered a little. "But I, uhm, I took her at the Orange, instead. She passed out before she could give me the address and I didn't know where else to take her," she explained and for the first time since their first meeting, Jisoo was too embarrassed to look Lisa in the eye.
"I'm really sorry, Chu. For whatever troubles that last night's affair had caused you," Lisa said.
Jisoo felt too intimidated under Lisa's soft, apologetic gaze. Sure, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary with how Lisa was looking at her right now. But it was a lot different now knowing who Lisa was and Jisoo couldn't help but wonder at the back of her mind if that was how royals should suppose to look at anyone. At her.
Mild and soft. Lisa was looking at her with those round eyes in a mild and soft manner and looking genuinely sorry and hopeful, that Jisoo was thinking of just dropping to her knees and swear an oath to protect both Lisa and Jennie from anything the world may throw at them. It was a stupid notion but it was exactly what Lisa's eyes was doing to her. Or maybe it was always how Lisa would look at anyone? Like, she meant them to understand that they are important to her, the way those soft round eyes would penetrate right through the soul and Jisoo just didn't notice before.
"No. I-it's fine, L-Lisa. It was nothing, really," Jisoo stuttered and tried to laugh the silliness out of her
"Are you okay, Chu?" Jennie asked with concern.
"No. She's not okay, actually. She had a hard time taking things in on our way here," Doona interjected that made Jennie looked more worried. "Both of you are in the news, Pokpak," Doona told Lisa.
"What news?" Jennie asked, her face had gone pale. She looked tensed and defensive all of a sudden.
"Nobody ever called you yet? Both of you?" Chaeyoung asked.
"I don't know, Chipmunk. I think I left my phone in the car. Why?" Lisa said, looking confused.
"And I left mine with Mr. Young last night," Jennie provided and asked, "What's going on, Chu?" looking at Jisoo.
But Doona stepped in before both Chaeyoung and Jisoo could even open their mouths to speak and whom both felt grateful for because it they both realized that they both didn't know where to begin. Or how to begin. Especially Jisoo.
"I'm going to make it really simple," Doona said. "You're busted, both of you. But more on you, Pokpak."
"What do you mean with busted?" Lisa asked Doona, her brows furrowed.
"As in 'Hello, good morning, South Korea! Lisa and Jennie are dating!' kind of busted, but more explosive than that," Doona said. "Like, 'Did you know that Lisa is actually the--' "
Jennie wasted no time and snatched Chaeyoung's mobile phone from the redhead's hand when she noticed that a tab on the screen was open and caught a glimpse of her own face in it.
Jennie's eyes grew larger and larger by the second as she scanned and read the words on the screen.
"Oh my god! Lisa!" Jennie brought her hand to her mouth to refrain herself from screaming.
"What? Is it that bad?" Lisa asked and tried to snatch the device from Jennie's hand but Jennie was quick to dodge it out from Lisa's grasp.
"...the elusive Princess Pranpriya Manoban..." Jennie read aloud.
"No!" Lisa yelled and looked at both Chaeyoung and Doona in horror. The world had stopped revolving, Lisa could tell. She could hear the loud pounding of her heart against her ears, it was deafening and painful.
"...Jennie Kim from the mighty Kim Group was seen leaving with the elusive Princess Pranpriya Manoban, also known as Thailand's prodigal princess, from the socialite slash model Irene Kim's party at the Woo Bar last night..." Jennie continued to read the article aloud.
"Jennie--" Lisa started but didn't know exactly what to say. What would she tell Jennie? Lisa asked herself. Sorry? But sorry for what exactly? For being who she was?
"No, wait. I'm not done yet," Jennie said, her eyes were still on the screen.
"The two were also spotted sharing smooches and being sweet with each other at the Hangang Park few nights ago," Jennie continued reading.
"The Princess' secret identity was revealed by a reliable source whose identity we cannot disclose yet as of this writing."
"Jennie," Lisa started again, louder and more distinct this time.
Jisoo, Doona and Chaeyoung just stood there and looking at them. They were waiting and listening for what could happen next. But Chaeyoung looked more concerned than the two. Because Jisoo was still looking dumbfounded and couldn't take her eyes off Lisa and Doona was already eyeing the leftovers at the kitchen island. She suddenly felt hungry from all the tension.
"Is it true?" Jennie asked slowly as she handed back to Chaeyoung her mobile phone and muttered a meek "Thanks, Chaeng."
Lisa heaved out a sigh and instead, she addressed Doona, Chaeyoung and Jisoo.
"Can you give us a moment, please?" Lisa asked the three who nodded synchronically and looked extremely relieved to be excused as they scuttled away towards the kitchen without a word.
"Jen..." Lisa started for the third time.
"Please answer the question first, Lili. Is it true?" Jennie asked for the second time.
Lisa bit her lip. She released it and bit it again, holding her breath. She was staring straight at Jennie's cat-like eyes. Lisa wondered what Jennie was thinking at the moment. What the petite chaebol was thinking about the revelation, about her. But Jennie's expression was unreadable. Because Jennie was just standing there, a mere foot away from Lisa and was looking at her with curiosity, among many other things that Lisa couldn't quite define at the moment.
Lisa held Jennie's gaze and nodded slowly.
"Oh my god!" Jennie whispered, her both hands on her mouth. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Lisa. She was wondering at the back of her mind if she should start calling Lisa 'Princess Pranpriya' now?
"Jennie, please let me explain," Lisa said. She was holding out her hand to touch Jennie and relief was washing over her when Jennie didn't flinched at her touch. At least.
"I can't believe this," Jennie said, her hands were shaking. She was looking at Lisa as if she was looking at her for the first time. "This can't be real, Lili," she whispered. Her voice quivered.
Lisa felt a surge of emotions coming in. She wanted to cry. She desperately felt like crying. Jennie was still calling her 'Lili'. She felt so overwhelmed and grateful and just wanted to take the opportunity to pull Jennie and wrapped her in her arms. But all she could ever muster at the moment was, "I'm sorry that I kept that part of me from you, Nini. I really am. I honestly was about to tell you--"
"No." Jennie was shaking her head.
"What?"
"No, Lisa. You don't understand," Jennie said, tilting her head up so that she could meet Lisa's eyes with her own. "I've always wanted to meet you. I can't believe this is happening right now," she said, smiling.
"What?" Lisa asked again in surprise.
"I used to dream about this day to happen, Lisa," Jennie said and went on to explain further because Lisa literally looked lost after what she just said. "I once read a Time article about your family when I was still in New York, you know? It was after the death of your grandfather, the old King?" Jennie started.
Lisa nodded. She looked confused but never said anything. She knew about the article, of course. She was there when they all had to sit down at the great hall for the interview barely a week after their mourning. She could still remember how she felt about it after reading it. The Time Magazine failed to acknowledge the fact that her late grandfather was, above everything else he had done when he was still alive, a gentle and colorful soul. They had portrayed the old King as someone the world may have already known about him. Strong-willed, wise and exemplary. Lisa thought back then that the old King deserved more than being remembered as a ruler. She had wished that the world would know how the old King was a father, a grandfather, and a friend. It would have been a story that wouldn't fit in a single issue. His life was colorful. But Lisa didn't know what it had to do with what Jennie was about to say.
"Your name caught my attention, Lili," Jennie continued which pulled Lisa away from her reverie. "Not for any grand reasons, but because the article only talked so little about you and for the reason that you specifically wanted to keep your privacy as much as possible, according to the article. And out of my curiosity, because I was genuinely curious, I Googled you after that. I Googled Princess Pranpriya Manoban and only found limited results. None of which was exactly helpful. There was nothing specific about what you do, where you are, what you have become. They even used an old photo of you just to put something on your profile, if I remember it right. The one with your hair short and dark?"
"I grew and dyed my hair when I decided to settle here," Lisa explained, but still hadn't grasp what Jennie was trying to say.
"But why 'prodigal'? You're not exactly a pain in the royal ass, are you?" Jennie asked, which made Lisa chuckled a little and shook her head.
"I've been repeatedly asked to return home and perform my duties as part of the royal family but I declined, every time. The King, my father, supports me and my decision. My Mom, too. It's the council and the government who think I'm being an insolent and a wayward. Especially since my family won't budge when being asked about me. Thus, the media started calling me 'the prodigal'. And I find it quite funny, really, how they still haven't found out about me being Lisa, the photographer and frequent traveler, but had already released an article about Leo last year," Lisa explained.
"But the restaurant you've told me that your father owns in Thailand? Does it really exist?" Jennie asked.
Lisa nodded, pleased that Jennie remembered what they had talked about at the Seoseo. It felt like it happened years ago. "Yes. It's owned by my stepfather. He's a master chef and a Swiss. It's a long story," she said upon seen the look on Lisa's face.
"I'd love to go and visit there someday," Jennie said.
"I can take you there. That is, if my country will still accept me after today," Lisa said and forced a smile.
"Are you worried?" Jennie asked.
"A little. But I've always knew this day would come. I just didn't think it would have to be something like this, with your name being dragged into it. So, why did you want to meet me?" asked Lisa.
"Because I wanted to be like you, Lisa. Or should I start calling you by your title now?" Jennie asked.
Lisa shook her head but it didn't wiped off the confused look on her face.
"What? A 'pain in the royal ass'?" Lisa quipped.
"No." Jennie laughed. "Lowkey," she said and continued. "My mom used to attend to a lot of social gatherings when I was a kid. Fashion events, art gallery openings, you name it. The media knew about me. They knew that I exist, even when I was still too young to even understand what makes me so important for being a Kim. She would often parade me back then and would tell everyone that one day, I'll inherit all of it, including the social status she had built for herself."
Lisa nodded. Somehow, she understood how Jennie felt. Because it was the same for her when she was still parading her royal title years ago.
"It was sickening, the way the media and the public would want every piece and every details of my life. So, I asked, begged even, to be put in a boarding school in New Zealand to get away from everything here and then went to New York later on. It was where that I finally had a taste of freedom, Lisa. Not so much, though. Because many times I've caught my father's men tailing me, watching me from afar. They were doing their job, of course. But still, it was suffocating. And then I saw that article and I thought you've done a pretty good job staying away from the public eye. I wanted that," Jennie went on.
"In other words, and to put it mildly, you had a crush on me?" Lisa inquired. A playful smile was lurking on the corners of her mouth. She didn't mean to not take it seriously, but sLisa couldn't help teasing Jennie Kim.
"Oh my god, Lisa! Really?" Jennie looked revolted, especially when Lisa just gave her the shrug and that playful, teasing smirk she loved. "No, not even close," Jennie said indignantly.
"It did sound something like that when you tried to explain it to me, though," Lisa chuckled and turned serious when she asked, "Are you mad at me?"
Jennie shook her head and said, "How can I ever be mad at you, Lili?"
"This is all my fault, Jennie. I shouldn't have taken you out to see the bridge that night and I shouldn't have gone to Irene's party last night. Now, there are pictures of us circulating everywhere and I bet that everyone in South Korea have already seen us kissing. Your mother must be livid."
....
Of course, Mrs. Kim was livid. She had been pacing back and forth inside the privacy of the library, furious and fuming as she directed her glares at Mr. Young for the nth time since the news broke out.
"You had one job, Mr. Young! One job!" Mrs. Kim told Jennie's personal security. "I specifically told you to deny anyone access to my daughter's privacy, did I not?" she demanded, because where else should she put the blame?
"It's exactly what my men and I did that night, Madam Kim," Mr. Young said calmly. But deep inside, he, too, felt tumultuous. He, himself, didn't know what happened. How did anyone able to take a photo of the Lady Kim and the Thai woman during what appeared to be an intimate moment between the two, he didn't have a clue. They had scanned and secured the place, hadn't they? Or had they?
Because of course, he remembered it, that scene. Because he was there, confined inside the darkness of their car, parked a few meters away from Lady and Lisa, he and his men. But was there anyone who knew or recognized Lady Kim and Lisa that night, he didn't know. It was dark, where the two women were at. It was a secluded place and he was sure that Lady Kim nor Lisa did not announced to the world where they would be at that night.
Mr. Young had been ransacking his brain for something, anything at all, that could help him remember what he failed to recognize that night. But all he could remember was how the Lady Kim looked happy and excited seeing the rainbow bridge and with the Thai woman.
"Then explain this to me! What is this? How did this happen under your watch?" Mrs. Kim was seething as she slammed her mobile phone on the table. She was shaking all over. This dating scandal of her daughter and the Thai woman could be the end of the Kim Group. Or Jennie.
Her poor Ruby Jane.
"I'm sorry, Madam Kim. This is all on me," Mr. Young said apologetically. But his hands were clenched on his sides. He was mad and disappointed with himself for failing the Kims, especially the late chairman.
"Sorry won't clean this mess up, Mr. Young," Mrs. Kim said. "I want every pictures taken down from the Internet today. Find out who took the photos and bring them to me. Coordinate with the KSG and tell Jisoo's father that I need to talk to him immediately" she ordered the top aide.
"What about Lady Kim, Madam?" Mr. Young asked.
Mrs. Kim was quiet. She was thinking. Mr. Young could tell. The Kim women weren't as close as the late chairman and the Lady Kim. Mr. Young had seen so many fights that broke out between the mother and the daughter. But the Kim household staff knew and understood that no matter how distant the two woman were, Madam Kim and Lady Kim would calculate their decisions when it would involve the other.
"I'm sure Jennie doesn't want to come home yet and leave the Thai's side today. Let her be. For now," Jennie's mother said and sunk back to her seat with her eyes closed. Mrs. Kim felt tired all of a sudden.
She had never faced this kind of problem before when her husband was still alive. Or maybe because Jennie's father was always two steps ahead of everything. Thus, avoiding a conflict even before it could arise.
"And the Thai?"
And the Thai, Mrs. Kim thought to herself. If it was true that the Thai woman was indeed a member of the royal family of Thailand, then Lisa's affair with the media should now be out of her hands.
"Let her people handle this for her. I'm sure they know how to deal with her affairs better than us," Mrs. Kim said.
"She's an incredibly nice person, Madam Kim," Mr. Young said. He was talking about Lisa.
"I'm sure she is or Jennie wouldn't have liked her," Mrs. Kim said. "But that's not the point now, is it? I don't think the board will give a damn about how incredibly nice Lisa is or how much Jennie likes her. They have always been reluctant with Jennie's presence in the company, Mr. Young. Today, they've finally found a reason to bring her down."