Part 13

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Jennie was hiding in Dahyun's closet, where she couldn't help but hear Lisa's conversation with Dahyun. She hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, but once Dahyun had shoved her into the closet, she really didn't have a choice. So she was sitting in the closet, trying her best to pretend she wasn't listening, and making sure she wasn't making any noise. At least, she wasn't making any noise until she heard Lisa say "I think I'm in love with Jennie." Upon hearing that, she couldn't help but let out an excited little squeak.

"What was that?" Lisa asked.'

"I didn't hear anything," Dahyun replied.

"No, I definitely heard something. It sounded like a mouse in your closet!"

Jennie heard Lisa walking toward the closet. In a panic, she did the only thing she could think to do - she grabbed the doorknob and held the door closed. No sooner had she done so than she felt Lisa on the outside of the closet, trying to open the door. Jennie strained silently, doing her best to hold the door shut without giving herself away. After the better part of a minute, Lisa stopped.

"I've got to go get a screwdriver so I can get the door open," she said.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow? Dahyun asked, yawning loudly. "I'm exceedingly tired and I'd like to get a good night's sleep before checkout tomorrow."

"No, no way," Lisa said. Jennie could picture her in her mind's eye: Her arms crossed, one foot in front of the other, shaking her head vigorously. "If it was just a stuck closet door, I could let that go, if you were okay with that, but a mouse is a potential health hazard. I've got to get in there ASAP."

"And I still say it can wait until tomorrow. Check with Jennie, see what she says. If she said it has to be done tonight, then it has to be done tonight. Otherwise, I really need to get some sleep."

Jennie heard Lisa crossing the room, presumably to the phone. After a brief silence, she said 'She's not answering at the front desk or in her room. I'll have to go find her."

About 30 seconds after that, she heard Dahyun whispering at the door. "She's gone. You can come out now." As Jennie came out, Dahyun added "How are you going to get downstairs? There's just the one staircase."

"The same way I used to sneak out of my room when I was growing up," Jennie said, crossing the room to the window. Climbing out, she anchored her toes in the stonework of the lodge and grabbed onto the drainpipe. Just then Dahyun stuck her head out the window, a big smile on her face. "Did you hear what she said? She loves you?" Jennie nodded, concentrating on not falling. Dahyun leaned out the window and kissed Jennie on the cheek "Good luck. Go get her!"

As Jennie climbed down, she heard Dahyun close the window. She kept climbing until she reached the end of the drainpipe, at which point she was still about 7 feet off the ground. Pushing herself away from the wall, she landed with a thump next to the rear deck. "What was that?" she heard a voice say.

* * * * * *

Chaeyoung looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.

"Maybe it was an animal?" Jisoo suggested.

Chaeyoung shook her head. "There shouldn't be any animals that big around the lodge this time of year. I'm going to go look. Be ready to call for help if you hear me scream."

Chaeyoung handed her mug to the trembling Jisoo and headed toward where it seemed like the sound had come from. Looking off the end of the deck, she saw Jennie standing on the ground, with no footprints to explain how she had gotten there. "Jennie, are you okay?" Chaeyoung asked.

"Yes," Jennie whispered. "Just help me climb up onto the deck so I can get back inside."

"Sure." Chaeyoung grabbed one of Jennie's arms and pulled while Jennie used her legs and her other arm to scramble up onto the deck.

"What happened?" Chaeyoung asked, once they had gotten themselves untangled and back to their feet.

"No time to explain," Jennie whispered, shaking her head. "I've got to hurry and get inside so Lisa can find me."

Just then they heard the door to the lodge open and heard Lisa's voice call out "Oh! Jisoo, hi! Have you seen Jennie?"

Thinking on her feet, Chaeyoung called out "She's down here!"

As Lisa headed toward them, Chaeyoung said "I heard a strange noise and asked her to come check it out with me."

"That's odd," Lisa said. "I'm trying to find her about a strange noise too."

"A strange noise?" Jennie asked.

Lisa nodded. "I think I heard a mouse in Dahyun's closet, but the closet door's jammed. It'd only take me a minute to pop the pins out of the hinges to get in and see, but she says she wants me to check with you first, to be sure this is really something that can't wait until tomorrow."

Jennie nodded. "A mouse is a potential health hazard. Let me go up and talk to Dahyun, you follow as soon as you get the screwdriver."

Jennie followed Lisa into the lodge, then rushed upstairs while Jennie went to get the toolbook. Knocking on Dahyun's door, she rushed inside. "Lisa will be along with a screwdriver in a minute," she said to a shocked Dahyun, but I don't think we'll need it." She opened the closet door, knelt down in the doorway, and made a big show of checking the baseboards with a flashlight. She was about halfway done when she heard Lisa walk in.

"How'd you get the door open?"

Jennie leaned back and looked out at her. "You forget, I grew up in the lodge - I know all its secrets. This closet door binds up sometimes; all you have to is jiggle it just the right way and it opens, no problem."

"Any signs of a mouse?"

Jennie shook her head. "None at all. But you can set a trap in her tomorrow after Dahyun leaves - ask Chaeyoung where she stored the box of no-kill traps."

As Jennie got up and shut the closet, she heard Lisa apologizing to Dahyun for the disturbance. "It's not a problem," Dahyun was saying, "it's just that given a choice between a mouse and a carpentry project when I'm trying to sleep, I'd rather have the mouse. I understand about the health hazard, though - Jennie must be proud to have you for an assistant if you're that concerned about all your guests."

"She's been doing a great job so far," Jennie said. "Come on, Lisa - I think I know where Chaeyoung stashed the ice cream."

Grabbing Lisa's hand, Jennie led her out of the room and down to the kitchen.

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