YOUNG LOVE || 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐀 ✔︎

twenty-four

Jennie stood in her new kitchen, her gaze lingering on the sparkling water in the pool beyond the patio. The late afternoon sun filtered through the trees, dancing across the ripples. Even though she was trying to get out of the shadow of her parents and their name, she was thankful for the power her father had. In less than four weeks, the house was now hers.

She wished Lisa was here to share this moment, but she had been away for the last week, tending to business at one of their stores. While she and Lisa hadn’t spent even one second alone with each other since their dinner, they’d seen each other often. Jennie visited Alice frequently, and she’d even taken Alice to the new store to view the construction. But now that she’d closed on the house, now that she could officially move in, she wished Lisa was here.

“Oh, well,” she murmured out loud.

Minjoon was coming home tomorrow. She would drag him out shopping with her and Alice. Alice had volunteered to look at furniture with her. She refused to hire a decorator. She wanted to make the house a home, not a showcase.

Her own mother had spoken to her exactly three times since she’d told them about the divorce. All three conversations had escalated into harsh words and anger between them, and each time Jennie had effectively ended the call by hanging up on her mother. Childish, yes, but she simply couldn’t endure her mother’s attempts to make her feel remorseful about her choice. She wanted to get on with her life, and if that meant shunning her mother, she would do it.

When she heard a car door slam, she turned and headed back out to the garage, which she’d left open. She assumed the Realtor had forgotten something. She was shocked to find her mother standing there.

“So this is what you’ve stooped to? This…this house is barely large enough to be considered servants’ quarters.”

Jennie stared in disbelief, then laughed outright when she realized her mother was being serious. “Really? Did you just really say that?”

“You’re leaving your elegant—beautiful—home, which is in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Daegu, for this?”

“First of all, yes, it is elegant. But I wouldn’t call it beautiful and it certainly is not a home. This,” she said, waving behind her, “is going to be a home. And as far as prestigious,” she smiled, “don’t you mean pretentious?”

“I see you haven’t come to your senses yet,” she said with her usual air of superiority.

“Yes, I have. That’s why I left my marriage.” She turned to go back into the house. “Now, did you come by for a tour? Or just to belittle me?”

“I am your mother. I thought I should at least see where you will be living.” Her mother squared her shoulders. “It’s an embarrassment to the family, of course, but that seems to be your intention.”

Jennie bit her lip, refusing to give in to the guilt her mother was so good at dishing out. “I’ll give you a quick tour if you’d like. I don’t, however, need—or want—any suggestions from you. This will be my home. Not yours.”

“I know what you are insinuating, Jennie. Your father says I have interfered in your life, which we both know is nonsense. I have only—”

“Oh, please,” she said, realizing she had no more fear of her mother. “You’ve controlled everything in my life. It’s your fault I’m getting divorced,” she said, pleased to see her mother gasp.

“How dare you!” her mother hissed. “Do not lay that blame on me.”

“It’s your fault I’m getting divorced because it’s your fault I got married in the first place. You pushed Mino and me together. You and his mother.” She walked inside, feeling her mother following. “I suppose it was some plan you devised one afternoon over cocktails at the country club.”