I Hate You, Don't Leave Me

Chapter 21

Lisa wanted to scream, run, do something, but she found herself frozen, rooted to the spot as she looked into the faces of the people who had tormented her for years. They were both smiling at her, pretending to be those people that had shown up on Sorn's doorstep years ago, those people who had promised her the life that she had always wanted. And she had fallen for it. She knew that it was fake now.

Mr. Kwon smiled happily at her, completely unaware that anything was wrong.

"Your parents have been informing me that they were able to come this year after all, and they wanted to surprise you."

Lisa swallowed thickly.

It was definitely a surprise.

She quickly forced a smile though, not wanting to clue Mr. Kwon in to the fact that anything was wrong, and she found it easy to call upon the happy act that she had been putting on every time that Bom had asked her a question that made her skin crawl. She stepped forward to greet her parents, and she cringed when they hugged her, mentally calculating any way that she might be able to ditch them.

"How about you show us your room, sweetie? We'd love to finally see it," her mother said with false cheerfulness.

Lisa knew that her twelve-year-old self would have been in heaven because of the hugs and the affection that her parents were showing her right now. This was all that she had ever dreamed of as a kid and all that she now knew she could never have. She wouldn't fall for the same mistake twice.

She knew that her parents were up to no good and was aware that they were only trying to get her alone, but she was going to let them. She knew that it was the only way to find out what they wanted and why they had shown up here after two and a half years. She honestly wondered how they even knew about this event in the first place, but she supposed that she could ask them once they were alone. She beckoned for them to follow her, wanting to get this over with before she lost all traces of the confidence that she was trying so desperately to cling to.

"Sure. Right this way." Lisa began to lead the way up the stairs.

"Have fun," Mr. Kwon told her before heading off to the kitchen to help Minzy prepare lunch.

Lisa couldn't help but feel, as she walked up the stairs, that she was trekking to her death. She wanted to plead with Mr. Kwon with her eyes, hoping that he might notice something in them, but she knew that she could not. No one could know about this if she did not wish to be placed in the system. She had to sort this out on her own.

As expected, the moment Lisa and her parents were inside of her room, their smiles immediately dropped, replaced by ugly scowls. The looks on their faces didn't fit the mood that Lisa had come to associate with this room. This was her home, and she did not like the fact that these people were inside of her and Chaeyoung's safe space. She vowed that she was not going to act like some weak little girl this time. She squared her shoulders, hoping to be as strong as Chaeyoung had been making her feel.

"How did you find out where I was?" she asked, careful to keep the bite out of her tone so as not to upset them right away.

"Are you kidding?" her mother sneered. "We've been getting these silly little invitations for this ridiculous event every single year."

Lisa's mouth dropped open in slight shock, and her eyes hardened into blades. "And you're just now choosing to do something about it? If this event is so stupid, then why are you even here now?"

Her stepfather stepped forward menacingly, grabbing her wrist in a painful grip. "Don't you dare talk to your mother that way, you little bitch! Do you hear me? You are to be respectful when you speak to us."