Kiss Me

Chapter 12: Appa

Lisa tossed and turned on her bed, bringing her phone to her face every once in a while. No messages. No calls. No voice mails. She frowned, missing her girlfriend, Jennie Kim.

Graduation day came and went fast, as if everything happened in a split of a second and High School was over. The following weeks were spent filling up University applications, and the weeks after that was torture with Jennie applying for summer jobs, gradually decreasing the time spent with Lisa.

Yeri will be in High School in more or less two months and so Jennie needed the summer job to at least help her parents with the expenses.

As much as Lisa want to spend her whole summer cuddling with Jennie, she knew she should let Jennie do what she thinks is best for her family.

She groaned as boredom consumed her. Two months, two more months and she'll be moving in with Jennie and Jisoo in the apartment they found near Jennie's University.

She and Jisoo will be attending Dongguk University while Jennie enrolled in a public college, the University of Seoul. She will be taking up Business Administration, a course that had been decided for her ever since she was born, just like her brother. Jennie will be taking up Humanities, majoring in English Language and Literature. Jisoo, on the other hand, will be taking up Photography, making Lisa envy the shirter girl. It was a course she wanted ever since, but can't bring herself to disobey her Appa's orders.

Her right hand raked her hair in frustration while her left hand held her smartphone, eyes staring at the small screen. Still no messages. She sighed dejectedly before tossing her phone aside, deciding to just look for something on the television and wait until Jennie's shift in the coffee house is over.

She was scanning through channels when her sight caught the face of a familiar man. Turning the volume up, she stared at the man that was being interviewed. His face looked tired, the rings under his eyes a little visible, hair graying, smile not reaching his eyes anymore. She stared as her father talked to the reporters, answering their questions. She didn't understand a word he was saying because she was too focused on the man that had once been her playmate. His hearty laughter filling the house, his big and calloused hands always wiping her tears away when Jiyong would bully her.

That was then, though. Everything changed when he became the business world's Mr. Manoban. He tried to balance his time with his business and their family, but his efforts weren't enough. Too busy to play with you. That was what he always tells her when she wanted some father-daughter bonding. And then he stopped trying, Jiyong stopped bullying her, the house becoming more and more quiet each day. Lisa then became lonely and her books had been her only companion until Jisoo and Seulgi came. Then there was Jennie Kim, coloring Lisa's world with her bright smiles. Okay, that was cheesy, but true.

Jennie. She frowned. Her father doesn't know about Jennie yet. What would he say? She had known her father to be a conservative man. Old-fashioned. Her eyes refocused on the man that was still being interviewed. Something about a partnership with Mr. so-and-so's company, big shot, thousands of millions of dollars. A merger in six years time. Tying bonds and whatnot. Her father looked older, thinner, in her eyes. Eyes, his eyes, there is something there. Pain? Fatigue? Hurt. Physical? She gasped as her father yelped inaudibly for a second before regaining his composure. Was he hurt? Is he sick? She seemed to be the only one to notice as the reporters continued bombarding him with questions. Concern kicked in as her father's interview was cut short, excusing himself for a meeting.

Lisa looked over her desk calendar, brows furrowing at the date. No meetings on Tuesdays. He's definitely lying. Her lips formed to a frown. Why did he have to lie?
She was so lost in her thoughts that she haven't noticed her phone ringing. She looked over it and four missed calls were displayed on the small screen. Biting her lips, she unlocked the smartphone and returned the call.