Always Beside You (JenLisa FF)

Chapter 2

"Honey, wake up. We've just landed." Mrs. Kim said to the half-awakened woman.

"How long did I sleep, Mom?" Jennie asks Mrs. Kim while yawning.

"Long enough that you missed seeing the twilight from up above." Mrs. Kim replies to Jennie while laughing and caressing her daughter's messy hair with her hand.

As soon as they walk outside the airport, a black sedan was then waiting for their arrival. As they step closer to the car, the guy in the black suit opened the door for them.

"Welcome home Mrs. Kim and Ruby Jane". Mr. Yang greeted them with a pleasant grin on his face.

"Oh please call me Jennie, Mr. Yang! The Ruby Jane you knew was the little girl 5 years ago. I grew up already for God's sake!" Jennie rolled her eyes at Mr. Yang, who even stared at her like the little bratty girl that he knew way before she left Korea to study in New Zealand.

After seeing the astounded look on Mr. Yang's face, Jennie can't contain her laughter anymore. "Got you, Mr. Yang, again!" They both laugh and shifted their gaze on Mrs. Kim, who is likewise laughing while shaking her head.

"As always Jennie Ruby Jane." Mr. Yang told Jennie, who is still laughing while getting inside the car.

When Jennie was still living in Korea, she often tricks Mr. Yang into that she was hurt, or she was missing. One time when she was playing at the park, Mr. Yang seats on the bench where he can watch Ruby Jane without him interrupting her, running from there to there nonstop until she was drained.

"I'll be downstairs in a minute. Please get Ruby Jane settled when I get there." Mrs. Kim was on the line.

"Yes, Ma'am." Mr. Yang responded.

When he turned to get Ruby Jane, for all he knows was just running nonstop is now nowhere to be seen. Mr. Yang is looking left and right while yelling her name.

Sweats are building. His heart was beating very fast. He is now who runs from there to there just to find Ruby Jane on time before Mrs. Kim called him again to summon that she was then at the entrance of Kim Entertainment Agency. Minutes have moved. He yet can't locate the bratty girl. Until the phone on the left side pocket of his pants vibrates. Mr. Yang nervously answered the phone.

"Mr. Yang, where are you?!" Mrs. Kim's assertive voice resounded in his ear over and over while his eyes were still scanning for Ruby Jane.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Kim, but Ruby Jane is nowh—" Mrs. Kim did not let him finish.

"We are waiting for you here in the car. Why did you let Ruby Jane seated here alone?" Mrs. Kim sounded irritated while talking to Mr. Yang on the phone.

He was about to answer the question when Mrs. Kim continued, "Hurry! I wished to go home and rest." Then the hung-up tone is the next thing he heard.

Ruby Jane chuckled when she saw Mr. Yang running towards the car. The driver opened the door and seated immediately behind the driving wheels. He is trying to avoid any eye contact with Mrs. Kim in the rearview mirror, who is having a headache from a long, tiring day. He then met Ruby Jane's eye, who giggles and winked at him.

"I missed being here, Mom. The food. The culture. The familiar face knowing that I belong in this community." Mrs. Kim smiled at Jennie while listening to her lovely daughter.

"And we missed you, too. Kuma, Kai and me especially." Mrs. Kim's response to Jennie.

"Mom, I don't want to go anymore. I want to stay. Here. With you, with Kuma and Kai." Jennie said to her mom, who is quite shocked but looks like loving the idea of her not going far away anymore.

"I want to be a singer, Mom." Out of nowhere, Jennie utters those words.

"I will support anything you want, baby." Mrs. Kim smiled at Jennie.

"I will help you reach your dreams. You can go to the office anytime you want, and we will train you to enhance and hone your skills more honey." Mrs. Kim knew Jennie was born to perform. She is a performer. She loves to sing and dance in front of many people. And she is worth of their time.

"There's one more thing Mom that I would like to ask you." Jennie said.

"What is it, baby?" Mrs. Kim said to her serious-looking daughter.

"I don't wish you to help me. Not that I don't need your help. Please don't be offended by my words. But I want to establish my name by being me. By showing them my talent. By showing them my skills and what I got. I don't want to be known and accepted by the producers because I'm Jennie Kim. The CEO's daughter. I hope you don't get me wrong, Mom." Jennie sigh and her worried face were formed while looking at her mother.

"I want them to treat me like the other trainees. I don't want any special treatment from them. I don't need it. I can excel on my own and I can prove that." Jennie shows the confidence she gained while living in a foreign country alone.

"I know you can, honey. But at least let them know you are my daughter. I know how they trained the trainees. They can be harsh. I don't want you to experience the sad truth of being a trainee behind the camera." Mrs. Kim told her.

"Mom, I will fully understand and take whatever words they will throw at me. The audience is looking for perfection. The trainer's job is to deliver that through the idols." Jennie's reassuring words to her mom that she is brave and stronger than what her mom thinks.

"Okay, but let me know if anything bad happens. Promise me." Mrs. Kim concedes to Jennie. She knows Jennie is a strong, independent woman. Full of talent. Everyone will definitely love her.

"I promised." Excitement replaced the worried look on Jennie's face.

Night after celebratory dinner way back in New Zealand, Jennie packed all her things one by one, making sure that she will leave nothing behind. While arranging her things, that's when the thought of 'what I truly want?' came to Jennie's mind.

"Speaking of that, we have an ongoing tryout for the new girl group we are creating under our company. Auditions are held in other countries and, of course, here in Seoul. If you don't want any special treatment, might as well consider auditioning as early as tomorrow before they closed the registration. We will narrow all the applicants, and only a few who deserve the spot will continue." Mrs. Kim told Jennie, and she accepts it as her first challenge.

She rushed to her bedroom and look for the ideal audition piece.

Should I dance? Or should I sing? Should I do both? Hmmmn to come and think of it I am in Korea. Not all Koreans can talk in English. Maybe I should sing an English song. What about Rihanna's Take a bow?

Jennie spends the entire night practicing her piece.