Chapter 48

JENNIE

“Ella, watch out your little brother. He keeps following you.”

“I know mommy. I am careful.. Come here baby Raife.”

Watching from afar my two children and having next to me the woman of my dreams. What else could I ask for?

“I can’t believe that he is growing up so fast baby..”

“Tell me about it.. I feel old.”

“You feel old? I’m almost in my forties.”

“Jisoo, you are 36 and very sexy.. You are one hot sexy momma.”

“Well.. yeah I am..”

“Oh, my God.. Jisoo Kim, what happened to you?”

“I married you..” She said and kissed my cheek. Yes, she married me. But how we came in this day? Maybe I should start from that weekend in New York seven years ago.

Seven years ago. After everything that happened in our life. After the life sentence of Seungri and actually starting to live our life again. That trip to New York to see our little girl, take her in our arms and be a family again. All that without having in our mind that we would stay with Seunghyun and Nara. Nara Kim. That woman was bringing the bitch Jennie on the surface. But hearing Seunghyun telling us that actually THE Nara Kim, loved Ella, THE Nara Kim who loved only herself, loved another person well it was hard for us to understand and we really wanted to see it with our own eyes.

Jisoo and I were holding Ella and Seunghyun was bringing our luggages. With every step I was making to the mansion I had a different feeling. Anger, fear, anger again.. Mostly it was anger because only in hearing her name I was going back to the day that she tossed that money on my face.

“Relax.. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Fine with your mother I don’t know.”

“We can always stay for a night and leave. My dad will understand.”

“I don’t think so Jisoo. I said that you and Jennie are going to stay here. If your mother doesn’t like it she can go wherever she likes.” Seunghyun said from behind us.. “So let’s go inside”

Jisoo’s house was reminding me the one I had back to California. The one I never sold although I could. It had all the memories of my family and me. I was broke but I wouldn’t sell my memories.

When we got inside I felt that coldness that Seunghyun mentioned. It was after all only two people living here and their maids.

“Jisoo, you can go up and show Jennie the guest room. I told the maid to make the bed for you guys. Ella was staying in your old room. When I told her that she was ecstatic..”

“Thanks dad.”

“I am going to find your mother. We meet downstairs in half an hour?”

“Yes, see you downstairs.”

I bet this house had more than eight bedrooms. It was huge and after living in shit places for years now I forgot how it was to live in an actual house. Only in Jisoo’s apartment I felt like that.

“Mommy, momma I am so happy you are here. I missed you.” Ella said grabbing our legs. In all her five years of age I tried to protect her from everything. I tried to give her the things that she wanted. She was my little angel.

“Okay, here is our room.”

“It’s beautiful baby.” I said and turned around putting my hands on her hips and kissing her softly on her lips.

“Mommy and momma, sitting under a tree.. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” We both laughed to the song that our daughter seemed to like very much.

“Come here you..” I was trying to catch her but the little one was faster than me. She got behind Jisoo and tried to ask for help.

“Momma, momma save me.. Mommy wants to tickle me..”

“Mmm.. I see.. Tickle you like that?” and Jisoo turned and put her down with me and her both tickling her.

“Mommies, stop.. I can’t breathe.. I can’t breathe.. hahah.. please!” We laid down with her and took her in our arms. Both kissing her cheeks. In that moment I realized what Jisoo was for us. It was our bright light in the tunnel. And we would be lost without her.

“I think we should go downstairs..”

“Do we have to Jisoo?”

“Come on. We faced worse things than Nara Kim. Come on my girls.”

Going down Seunghyun and Nara was sitting in the living room, chit chatting. I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“We are here.” When Jisoo saw her mom stayed still. And Nara did the same. I could feel the tension between them.

“Jisoo.”

“Mother.”

“Nice seeing you again.”

“I guess.” Although I didn’t like the woman I saw that she wanted something more. I saw the uneasiness in her voice. And then she turned her face on me.

“Jennie.” She said my name and I didn’t know if I was dreaming but I saw a smile? Maybe..

“Mrs. Kim.”

“Still here I see.”

“And I am planning to be..” I said and took Jisoo’s hand on mine right in front of her mother.

“I think we should eat. What do you think young lady? Are you hungry?”

“Yes, I am.”

“So, lets eat..”

Their dinning room was bigger than Jisoo’s apartment. Now I realized her need to leave from them. To leave from her mother. She didn’t care for all this because if she did she would still be here and I wouldn’t probably meet her.

Once at the table we all sat down. Seunghyun was the one who was talking the most. Ella was sitting next to Nara and me and Jisoo next to her dad and opposite of me.. I couldn’t help but notice how Nara was reacting to Ella’s questions and how she was looking after at her. It was a strange thing to see.

“Did you like?”

“It was very good daddy. Mercy’s cooking was always good. I haven’t seen her yet.”

“Mercy died last month Jisoo. Sofia is the one who is cooking for us..”

“She is dead? She almost raised me.. Why you didn’t tell me?”

“You had your own things to handle..”

“Where is Sofia?”

“She is at the kitchen..”

“I am sorry. I’ll be right back.”

I wanted to ask who was Mercy and who was Sofia but my questions were answered not from Seunghyun but from Nara.

“Mercy was with us from the day we bought this house. When I was pregnant to Jisoo she brought here her daughter Sofia.”

“I see..”

“So.. dessert anyone? Ella?” Nara said asking my daughter. And strangely her voice was soft.

“Can I have ice-cream?”

“We should ask your mother about that. Jennie?”

“Since you ate your food I guess you can have some ice cream baby girl.”

“Thank you mommy. You are the best.”

It was after an hour that Jisoo came back to our table. She came to where we were sitting kissed Ella and me and then sat back to her seat..

“Are you okay Jisoo?” She seemed sad. Like she was crying. I guess Mrs Mercy was very important to her.

“Yes, I am okay.”

“We finished here. You can go and take a nap or something. I am sure you are tired from your trip girls.”

“Mommy, momma. Why don’t we go to that big park grandpa took me. I liked it there ” I knew that Ella was calling Seunghyun grandpa but I wanted to see how Nara would reach to that. Surprisingly again she was quiet.. What was wrong with that woman.

“Jen? What do you think?”

“I think we are going to the park. Your daughter made a request and she is our princess.”

“Okay so lets go. Dad, mother.. After we come back Jennie and I want to tell you something.”

“Okay Jisoo. Have fun with your daughter..”

“Thank you for the lunch. It was nice.”

“No, problem Jennie. See you later.”

When we got from the table I heard again some whispering. I didn’t stay to hear what they were saying. And I knew what we would tell them after we would come back. That I was engaged to their daughter.

Central Park was beautiful. It was the second time I was coming in New York. I loved the city but my mind was always in California.

“What are you thinking baby?”

“I was thinking my home. My parents, our house.. you know.”

“Jennie I am always here for you okay?”

“I know you are.. you are my home now..”

“What do you think my parents will say when we will tell them?”

“Your dad will be okay I guess. I don’t know about your mom.”

“She was acting kind of weird don’t you think?”

“Let’s put it like that. It was strange to see her acting like a normal person and not like a bitch.”

“I don’t need her approval. I am already your fiancée so whatever she says it won’t change a thing.”

“I love you..”

“And I love you too”

We walked to the park for an hour. Ella seemed to like it very much and she made new friends. It was always easy for her to make friends.

“Can we go home now? I am tired.”

“Awww.. Poor baby.”

“I mean it Jisoo.. I am very tired.”

“So I guess you are tired to make love to me when everyone goes to bed.”

“Maybe I am not that tired after all..”

“Come on silly person. I am kind of tired as well.. And we have to prepare ourselves for the storm. Ella.. Lets go sweetie, we are going home.”

“I am coming momma. Just a moment.”

When we got back home, Jisoo helped Ella with her bath and we put her in her bed. She had a specific time she was going to bed. Jisoo and I showered together because I really missed her, if you know what I mean. We got dressed and we found her parents waiting for us downstairs.

“Hey Daddy. Hello Mother.”

“Jisoo, Jennie. How was it at the park?”

“Ella made new friends as always. It was nice other than that.”

“I am glad to know. So come sit with us..”

“So Jennie and I want to tell you something..”

Nara stayed quiet. I don’t know what was better. For her to be quiet or actually talk and start being her old lovely self. That was an irony by the way.

“Jennie and I are together for almost a year now. We live together; I am Ella’s second mother. They are my family.. What I want to say is..” I saw Jisoo playing with the fake ring I gave her the day before. It was my time to talk. After all I was the one who proposed..

“I asked Jisoo to marry me and she said yes.” Seunghyun and Nara looked at us surprised but Seunghyun was the one who got up from his seat and hugged both me and Jisoo.

“Congratulations girls. I am so happy for you. Both of you.”

“Thank you Dad. It means a lot.”

“Nara? Do you have anything to say?”

“Well.. What can I really say into this? My daughter, with a bright future, a woman that could have anyone in her life she is a lesbian, and now engaged to another woman that has already a child. Jisoo, it’s your choice if you want to ruin your life. But I won’t sit here and see that happening. Jennie, you have a beautiful daughter, I really like her and you raised her well. But as a mother I want the best for my daughter. And I don’t think it’s you..”

“As a mother? Do you know what the word mother means, Mother? You were never one. You never stood for me. You wanted a robot to just follow your orders. That’s not a mother. A mother is Jennie who did everything to give Ella what she needed. Jennie who preferred to starve but she wanted to take her child to a best school. Jennie who lost everything but stayed strong for that little girl. So don’t tell me you are a mother because clearly you don’t know what that word means. I am going to marry Jennie and we are going to have our own family. Daddy, thank you for being who you are. And it really means a lot that you accept me and my fiancée. And with that being told we are going back to our room. Goodnight to both of you.”

I was left speechless and so did Nara. Wow.. it was the only word I had for Jisoo. And hot too.. Very hot actually.

“Jisoo, I..” I didn’t finish. Her lips were on mine kissing me softly but with a possessive kind of way. To make me realize that she wasn’t going anywhere. I knew that. I never doubted her.. “Mmm.. you taste good.”

“I love you. No matter what my mother says, I love you. Okay?”

“Baby, I never doubted that. I am going to marry you either she wants that or not. Don’t worry.”

“Good to know..”

For the next days Nara wasn’t around. I guess she left as Seunghyun said. He chose us over his wife. That made me love him even more. We enjoyed our time to New York, Seunghyun was an excellent tourist guide but to the things that tourists don’t see. On Sunday morning we were back to the airport with Seunghyun kissing us both.

“Call me when you land. Have a nice trip and I will take some time away from the office to come and see you. Bye bye my girls.. Princess watch out your mothers. Okay?”

“Yes, grandpa. I will. Byeee!”

“Thank you Seunghyun for everything.”

“Don’t mention it again. See you soon.”

On our way back to Philadelphia I was keep looking at my girls. Jisoo was helping Ella to paint inside the lines. It was so cute. I was thinking how it would be the day I would marry her. They day we were going to start our own family.

We took a taxi back home. When we got inside the new guy downstairs gave us some envelopes, bills and other things. We didn’t open them till we were back to our apartment. We left our things in our kitchen and Ella left immediately for the bathroom.

“Jennie, this is for you. It has your name on it.”

“What is it and from whom?”

“It’s from a law company.”

“Let me see.”

I opened the envelope and started to read what they were saying..

‘Ms Jennie Kim. We would like to see you this Monday to our offices in California. Considering you are staying in Philadelphia though we are sending one of our lawyers to inform you about something that has to do with your father’s music legacy. Sincerely, Adam Broder..’

“What are they saying baby?”

“I really don’t know. A lawyer will come on Monday to tell me something about my father.”

“Is there any contact information?”

“Yes, here it is.”

“I am going to make a call to see who they are and what they want.”

“Okay.”

After fifteen minutes Jisoo came back being with her mouth open.

“Okay.. they couldn’t tell me enough because they want to talk with you but they told me something about your dad. They were trying to find you for years now but they couldn’t. They found out about you after everything that happened with Seungri. They told me about your dad’s music records.”

“What about that?”

“We are going to find out tomorrow.”

I didn’t expect what happened on that day. The lawyer did come and he told me something that brought tears in my eyes for a lot of reasons. They told me that after the death of Dahee they were trying to find me or her. They didn’t know if she was dead or not. I had already changed my name to Jennie Kwon and I wasn’t staying in California any more.. My dad’s music was out again. His record company reproduced all of his songs with new groups and artists and all the profits from the cd’s were to go to his daughters. Since Dahee was dead and I was gone they tried to find me till that day that I was on the tv and I was again by the name of Jennie Kim. So pretty much the lawyer came to give me a check of six million dollars. I don’t know how I didn’t faint at that moment. It was a good thing that Jisoo did all the talking.

My father was watching out for me all this long. He was waiting for the right time to bring all the good things into my life.

We called Seunghyun the same day to tell him the good news. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go back to California and start my life with Jisoo there. To my home. To the home that held the best memories.

When I discussed that with Jisoo she didn’t say no. Actually she liked the idea. She always wanted to come to California and she knew what that meant for me. I told her that I wanted our marriage to be held there. To our new home.

Before we get married I flied back for two weeks to see how it was. The house was empty and needed to be painted again and buy new things. I wanted it to be ready for our family. And the two weeks became a month because I wouldn’t let anyone to do whatever they liked.

Jisoo and I were talking on the phone every day and I missed her very much. She was preparing everything for our marriage though. So once I demanded for everything to be ready in a month the house was back to his old glory. It had simple touches here and there. I wanted it to be warm and comfy. Nothing too much. I told Jisoo to start packing our things because in a month I wanted for us to already staying there and in May we would marry.

In our wedding we didn’t have a lot of people. From my side I didn’t have many. I lost all of my friends when I lost my money and I couldn’t actually call friends my co workers. But I wanted there with me Mr Yanni and Mrs Maria. They were the parents that I lost and they were very important to our life. From Jisoo’s side it was Seunghyun of course and two of her friends. So it was a close wedding. What I didn’t expect was to see Nara sitting in the back. And actually see her crying. That was beyond strange. When she saw her daughter glowing in her white dress she hugged her and asked for forgiveness. For everything that she did. And then she hugged me. She told me how sorry she was. That she misjudged me. And now she could see that I was the right person for her daughter. And me being her daughter in law and being the forgiving person I was, of course I forgave her.

Wedding life was amazing. With the money I had I could now provide my child what she needed. The good school I always wanted her to go. A nice house. And Jisoo and I were thinking of having another kid. We tried for two years.. And after those two years we have been blessed with Raife Jr. Jisoo gave birth to him. He had her eyes and brown hair like mine. It was strange but in a way I could see my father in him. Ella was so happy she had a little brother and she was so protecting. She was the old sister after all.

So that’s what happen 7 years ago. I am seven years married to an amazing woman. I have two beautiful kids that I love them to death. I have my family house and I do something I like. I have my own record company and Jisoo is the lawyer.

Life couldn’t be treating me better. So at the end I might lost everything but I gained so much more.

I can’t wait to spend all my years in life taking care of my kids and my loving wife.