Lisa
The rest of the day was busy with people coming and going from the house constantly as election day continued. Richard jumped out with an early lead in the polls, but by late afternoon, he was starting to trail behind.
Jennie had been a pillar of strength for her father, giving him warm embraces throughout the day and reminding him that he was a good man who deserved to win. She moved around the house helping Richard with anything he needed and Lisa couldn't help, but admire the close relationship that Jennie and Richard had.
As the early afternoon turned to evening, a few close family friends started arriving at the house to show their support. Lisa heard the radio on his hip make a clicking noise, and recognised Bambam's signal immediately.
"Jiyong arrived, I need you to stay close to me." Lisa whispered into Jennie's ear, watching her small body tense at her words as she nodded in agreement.
Seconds later, Jiyong made his way out onto the back patio, making his rounds and smiling at a few of the people who were in attendance. He made eye contact with Jennie and raised his hand to wave at her, but it took Jennie a little while to gain her composure. She pressed her hand against Lisa's arm and folded her ring and middle finger down against her palm, signalling Lisa that she was scared and she wanted her to intervene.
I've got you baby. You've got nothing to be afraid of when I'm around. I won't ever let these monsters near you.
Lisa positioned herself slightly in front of Jennie, ready to intercept Jiyong on her behalf, but before Jiyong could reach them, Jin's tall frame came into view. Jin walked by Jiyong at a fast pace, ramming one of his broad shoulders hard against Jiyong's chest as he passed. The impact sent Jiyong's drink flying, spilling down the front of his shirt and pants. "Shit, sorry Jiyong didn't see ya there." Jin said with an insincere smile.
"No problem. It was an accident." Jiyong tried to force a laugh, but cut his eyes at Jin knowing that their collision was intentional. Jin's diversion was perfect because it sent Jiyong away, straight to the bathroom to clean off his shirt, which was understandable since his shirt had been soaked in alcohol. The part that was out of the ordinary was that as soon as Jiyong disappeared into the house, Dara followed him inside.
I still see you Dara. What the fuck are you up to? Why are you sneaking around?
Lisa couldn't shake the way she felt when she saw Dara eye Jennie's pill bottles the way she had. Lisa had no way of tying her to the medication swap and even though they watched Seungri physically tamper with Jennie's purse, Lisa could feel in her gut that Dara was involved somehow - she just had to figure out how and to what extent that Dara was in this evil plot to kill off Jennie.
The rest of the evening, Lisa kept her arm wrapped firmly around Jennie's waist as they moved around the patio. The mood of the house steadily declined as the poll numbers kept rolling through, showing that Richard was not only starting to trail, but it was starting to become a landslide that was not in his favour.
By the end of the evening it had been accepted by everyone in attendance that Richard had lost the election. His highly corrupt opponent was the landslide winner and the entire house seemed to deflate all at once. People slowly started to leave, giving Richard apologies and words of support, but it was obvious that Richard was just going through the motions.
Sinking down into a patio chair, Richard sat outside, staring at the pool as the last person left the house, leaving only immediate family. Lisa, Jin, and the team had surrounded the kitchen table and were loosening their ties as they unwound from the evening, but Jennie went outside to comfort her father.
Lisa watched from the kitchen windows as Jennie wrapped her small arms around her father and pulled him in for a hug. Richard's shoulders shook slightly and it was obvious that he and Jennie were both shedding tears.
"My dad and I don't always get along, but he's a good man... all he wants is to do good in this world." Jin said, joining Lisa at the window and taking in the sight of his father and sister.
Everyone around the table let out a collective sigh, knowing that Richard would have done great things for South Korea, had he been elected. But there was one unfortunate truth that the team knew better than most - sometimes evil wins.
"He sure does love that girl." Jin said as he watched Jennie comfort his father. "You seem to love her pretty hard yourself." Jin added, turning his gaze towards Lisa, giving her a smile.
"I do. She's it for me. The one." Lisa confirmed.
Jin sighed and folded his arms across his chest before he spoke. "Take her back to California with you, Lisa." Jin said flatly, getting the attention of the team in the process.
"She doesn't need to be here. Everyone here is out to hurt her or use her and I can't stand to be a witness to it anymore. She's scared of everything here. She's scared to get close to people and scared to let her guard down enough to just be herself. That's not living. Take her back with you and give her a good life, Lisa. She deserves better than all this."
"There's nothing I want more in this world than to give Jennie a good life." Lisa said honestly and she meant it.
Jennie deserves to be happy, to live without fear and be loved without conditions. I can't wait to give that to you Jennie girl.
