YOUNG LOVE || 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐀 ✔︎

thirty-three

Lisa was hovering, and she knew it, but apparently she got her stubborn streak from her mother.

“I told you, I feel fine,” her mother said for the fourth time.

“The doctor said to take it easy,” she reminded her.

“And you take that to mean I should be in bed resting?”

“Yes.”

“Jennie and Minjoon are coming over, and I’d rather visit with them in here than in my bedroom,” her mother said as she settled on the sofa. “After lunch, I promise I’ll go lie down.”

While Lisa didn’t want to treat her like an invalid, she had been there when the doctor told her to rest. They still had no explanation for her fainting spell. But she had no more time to argue. A couple of light knocks on the front door told her that Jennie…and Minjoon…were already there. And she didn’t mind admitting she was a little nervous. Jennie had said she planned to tell Minjoon about them, not wanting to hide it from him…from anyone. Lisa could face Jennie's mother, her father, even Mino. But her son? She knew what she was really afraid of was that if he didn’t support it, didn’t accept it, then Jennie would run from it again, shunning what she felt in her heart for the sake of someone else.

Her mother must have sensed her hesitation. “Minjoon loves his mother very much,” she said. “He’ll only want her to be happy.”

“Oh? So now you can read my mind?” she said as she headed to the door.

“I could always read your mind,” her mother said with a laugh.

She took a quick breath, then opened the door, her gaze landing first on Jennie before sliding to Minjoon. She was surprised to find a hint of amusement there. Was her nervousness that obvious?

“Hey, come in,” she said, stepping out of the way. “Glad you could come by.” She motioned with her head. “She’s in the living room on the sofa.”

As soon as Minjoom was out of earshot, Lisa turned to Jennie. “How did it go?” she asked quietly.

Jennie touched her arm, letting her fingers linger. “It went fine.” She leaned closer. “I missed you last night,” she whispered.

Lisa was sure her relief was visible. “So we’re not in trouble?”

“We’re not in trouble.” Then Jennie raised her eyebrows. “What were you afraid of?”

Lisa looked away, hearing her mother and Minjoon talking but not listening to their words. She met Jennie's gaze, holding it. “I was afraid he…he wouldn’t accept it, and then you…you would tell me…”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Jennie murmured, pulling her into a tight, intimate hug. “I love you, Lisa. I wouldn’t let anyone—not even Minjoon—keep us apart again.”
Jennie kissed her and Lisa felt all her worries melt away, making her feel foolish for them in the first place.

“Geez, you two, can you not wait?”

They pulled apart guiltily, both blushing as Minjoon stood watching them.
Lisa opened her mouth to apologize, but Jennie stopped her with a quick laugh. “Then quit sneaking up on us,” she said, going to him and linking her arm with his. “How is Alice?”

Lisa followed them inside, meeting her mother’s laughing eyes. She blushed again. “He’s gotten so tall,” her mother said.

“I know. He’s taller than me,” Jennie said.
“How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine, even though this one,” she said, pointing at Lisa, “insists I should be in bed.” She patted the spot beside her. “Come sit with me,” her mother invited and Jennie nodded, sitting down next to her.

Lisa knew immediately that her mother and Minjoon had been scheming about something. Minjoon glanced at her.
“Is there something I can help you with in the kitchen?”

Lisa couldn’t believe she was afraid of this sixteen-year-old kid, but she was. “Sure,” she said as she walked into the kitchen. “I’m…uh…making a tofu and vegetable stir-fry,” she said, pointing to all the veggies already cut up. “And we’re going to have it over pasta.”

He wasn’t looking at the vegetables. “My mom says you love her.”

Lisa bit her lower lip. “Yes. I do.”

“She says she loves you too.”

Lisa nodded. “Yes.”

Minjoon stared at her for a long moment, long enough for Lisa to shift nervously from foot to foot. “She and my dad…they were never affectionate with each other. Never.” Lisa didn’t know what to say so she just nodded. “You promise you won’t hurt her?”

“I will never hurt her.”

* * *

Jennie squeezed Alice’s hand. “Do you think Lisa needs rescuing?”

“I think Minjoon needed to know if her intentions were good,” Alice said. “What about you?”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“You told him about you two, he said. Are you okay with everything?”

“It wasn’t a shock to him since my mother had already told him I’d lost my mind,” she said with a quiet laugh. “But, yes, I’m okay.”

“I can’t believe you told your mother. I imagine that sent her into a spin.”

“We haven’t spoken since,” she admitted. “I keep waiting for my father to call or come by, but he’s been conspicuously silent.”

“Well, I would think it’s not quite as big a shock to him. I would suspect—when you were younger—that he, like me, knew there was more to your relationship with Lisa than just being friends.”

Jennie shook her head. “I don’t know. He wasn’t around all that much.” She shrugged. “What about you? How are you really feeling?”

“Tired. Very little energy.”

“Have you decided when you’re going to have the surgery?”

“We’re going to schedule it as soon as possible. The doctor said I could wait until after the holidays, but I want to get it over with. Lisa and Bambam, they’ve got the store. I know they wanted to have it opened by November. I don’t want to be a burden to them.”

“Alice, they would never—”

“I know, I know. But the sooner I have the surgery, the sooner I can recover. I don’t want Lisa to feel responsible for me. I would rather she be with you.”

Jennie leaned closer and hugged her. “We’ll work something out,” she said. Yes, she wanted Lisa to be with her, every day, every night. But not at the expense of Alice being alone.

“You guys ready for some lunch?”
Lisa called from the kitchen.

“Wonder what she’s whipped up this time?” Alice teased.