"I am not doing it," Lisa announced, fury underlying her calm proclamation.
"Yes, you are." Dara Manoban filled in another word in her daily crossword puzzle. she ’d been working on the damned thing since she’d arrived.
Dara disliked the smell and noise of the city. Lisa 's father, Jiyong, hadn't liked it any better. Besides which, living in the city meant moving every ten years to avoid drawing unwanted attention from the fact that they didn't age. Lisa 's parents had avoided it all by purchasing several lots of land outside of Jeju, and building their home in the midst of them. They thus had no neighbors near enough to be a concern, and needed not move at all if they did not wish. At least, they hadn't had to move in the thirty years since they'd built it.
Lisa now sat in the family mansion and watched her mother fill in another word. She had no idea why she bothered with the bloody crossword; centuries of living combined with a perfect memory made it less than challenging. Shrugging, she glared at her and repeated, "I am not doing it."
"You are."
"Am not."
"Are."
"Not."
"Are."
"All right, you two. Stop it," Jeongyeon interrupted. She had ridden out to the Manoban family home after Lisa had called her, ranting unintelligibly about being tricked and shouting that she was going to wring their precious mother's neck. Jeongyeon hadn't really believed her sister would do it, but curiosity had made her rush out to see what would happen. She ’d arrived just behind Lisa , entered the house on her sister's heels, and still didn't know what the woman was upset about.
She really wanted to know. It was rare to see Lisa with the fire presently burning in her eyes. Grumpy, surly, impatient? Yes, Lisa was often all of those. Impassioned with rage? No. Jennie Kim had lit a fire under her the likes of which Jeongyeon hadn't seen in her five hundred years. And Jeongyeon was sure this had something to do with that inestimable editor. Lisa had shouted her name like a curse several times while ranting on the phone. It was one of the few words Jeongyeon had actually caught.
Turning to her sister, Jeongyeon asked, "So what exactly is the problem, Lisa ? I thought you were willing to trade an interview with this Romantic Weekly magazine to get rid of Jennie. What's happened to change that?"
"Romantic Times," Lisa corrected shortly. "And it isn't a bloody interview that’s what changed it. It's a damned conference."
"A conference?" Jeongyeon glanced at her mother suspiciously. "Did you know this?"
Dara Manoban shrugged mildly, which was as close as she would come to a confession. "I don't see the problem. It's just a couple days in a hotel with some readers."
"Five days, mother," Lisa snapped. "Five days in a hotel with some five thousand fans. And then there are balls, book-signings and"
"One book-signing," her mother interrupted. "One book-signing with a couple hundred other writers there. You won't be the focus. You'll be lucky to get any attention at all."
Lisa was not calmed. "And what about the balls and awards dinners and"
"All the functions are held in the hotel. You won't need to risk the sun. And"
"I won't need to risk the sun because I'm not doing it!" Lisa roared. "I can't go."
"You are going," Dara began firmly, but Jeongyeon interrupted her. "Why can't you go?" she asked Lisa .
" I can't go without blood for five days." she could, actually, but not very comfortably. Cramps would cripple her. and her body would begin to consume itself.
