before | lisrene

XXII

Irene has been staring into nothing since she arrived home. Her room is as cold as the weather outside, like her life without warmth these past few years. Jisoo's words has been ringing inside her head since she left the coffeehouse.

How did Lisa know Jisoo? And if they know each other, how deep?

"Once you sign them, I'll give you the names of the culprits who murdered your Aunt Tiffany and Aunt Taeyeon."

The survival of their company. Solving her aunties' murders. Roseanne said there are three. What's the last?

She looked down at the divorce papers in front of her, with her hand holding the pen. Instead of signing, she stood up and went downstairs. She opened the only room in her house that still has Lisa's presence. It feels like she's missing something important.

The room still looks the same, Lisa's laptops and her desktop are still on her table, looking severely outdated. She haven't been inside for the last 5 years but she still asks her cleaning lady to dust it from time to time. She opened the drawers where there are a handful of letters scattered. Utility bills, letters from the clinics that they used to go to monthly, but what captured her attention is the same document that caused their argument the night that Lisa left. She remember ripping it apart but she can see that Lisa used scotch tape to stitch them back together.

CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE

The bottom part of the document was signed by both of them. That night, she was just so mad because she never wanted a marriage that involves her.

"What's this, Lisa?! It arrived on my office before I left!" Irene asked while throwing the brown envelop that she opened right after she entered the house that they started sharing less than a year ago when they hit their second anniversary.

"What do you mean, love?" Lisa asked.

Irene crouched down and pulled out the document and waives it in front of Lisa. "Certificate of Marriage!" Irene yells. "How the hell is my signature in this gooddamn document!"

Lisa looked at her, puzzled. "B-because we are?"

Irene sees red.
"Get out."

"Wha-, why?"

"I SAID, GET OUT!"

Lisa was left there standing before Irene locked herself inside their bedroom for the night.

Irene looked at the date of their marriage for the first time in her life and it all made sense.

"Irene, sit down." Her mom said as she entered her office. Irene looked around the space, she's been dreaming of how she will decorate the said office once her mom make her the CEO. How she will include a monstera plant in the corner where it can get enought sunlight to grow and bear fruits. Or how she will display the LED of her name that Lisa made that came with function where the font will change according to the weather. Or where she will put the replica of the dna structure from the Bigbang Theory that Lisa made for the vocational training that she took while Irene is busy reviewing for her finals.

She feels excited because she's expecting another level up from her position. She's now a junior designer under Ms. Jang that was her mom's protegeé. She's hoping to be transferred to distribution, one of the bigger departments that handles textile quality.