Chapter 44

"But why did I have to come to this stupid wedding?"

"Lalisa! Watch your mouth!"

Lisa's mother peered at her through the rear-view mirror before turning her attention back to the road in front of them. Lisa was leaning against the window in the backseat while her mother drove and Jieun rode shotgun.

"My co-worker's wedding is not stupid," her mother continued. "Maybe it'll show you what you could achieve in the future if you actually behaved and acted like an adult."

Well, I wouldn't want one of my achievements to be getting married off to some dude, Lisa thought scornfully, but she held her tongue.

Earlier that week, the younger daughter couldn't believe her ears when her mother told her that she was expected to come along to another lawyer's wedding. Lisa knew that said lawyer, a young member of her mother's law firm, was getting married, and that her mother would be attending. But she never imagined that anyone would want her to come.

Lisa's mother was mostly embarrassed of her, so she typically just dragged Jieun along to her work or social outings. After all, the eldest daughter was the perfect child in the matriarch's eyes and was on track to do the same line of work as her.

Lisa was sure that her mother didn't even mention her in conversations with her co-workers and friends.

And that was just fine.

But here they were, Friday afternoon, making a seven-hour drive down south to where the wedding was being held. Apparently, it was being held so far away to accommodate the groom's family who lived down there. What a pain in the ass.

Having to be pulled out of school just to attend an event with people she didn't know or care about...well, she supposed that at least she wouldn't have to sit through her boring classes.

Or see Jennie.

Well, that last part felt oddly bittersweet to Lisa, but she tried to ignore the tiny part of her that felt the slightest bit disappointed.

"Just please promise to behave yourself, Lisa," her mother started again.

Lisa folded her arms over her chest, staring out the window at the passing landscape.

"Sure, whatever."

---

The drive was finally over as the sun set in the unfamiliar town. After enduring a long wait for a restaurant for dinner, they checked into their hotel, hauling luggage with their dresses and shoes for the big occasion the next day.

Lisa hadn't even seen her dress. She didn't own any, so she imagined that her mother and Jieun just picked a nice but conservative one for her to wear. They knew how much of a hassle it would be to try to drag the teenager out to go shopping for something she didn't want to attend.

But Lisa was too exhausted from the trip to even worry about that now. When they checked into their hotel room, she collapsed on one of the two beds, sprawling out to take up the entire surface.

"I hope you're not planning to sleep like that," Jieun remarked.

"Oh?" Lisa asked, not looking at her as her face was buried in the blankets. "And why's that?"

"Because we'll be sharing that bed, obviously."

Lisa sprang up, looking at both her and her mother, the latter of whom was busy opening her suitcase to pull out her toiletries.

"Huh? What's up with that?" Lisa hated sharing a bed with anyone, much less a sister who she had a rather rocky relationship with.

"Oh, what's the issue, Lalisa?" their mother chimed in. "You two used to share a bed whenever we went up to the mountains to go skiing

"Yeah, and Jieun used to always snore and kick me in her sleep."

Jieun flashed her an indignant look.

"You must be thinking of yourself," she fired back in her usual calm, level tone.

"It's just one night, Lisa," her mother said. "Now, let's get ready for bed, girls. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Lisa was tired, so she didn't argue with her mother.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she changed into a tank top and sweats before crawling into bed. She'd have to try to get to sleep before Jieun could finish her lengthy skincare routine and occupy the other half of the bed.

Lisa tried, but even though she was exhausted just a moment ago, she had trouble drifting off. She was laying awake long after Jieun crawled into bed and fell asleep herself. Next thing she knew, she picked up her phone and saw that it was almost midnight.

Scrolling absent-mindedly through her phone, she found herself cycling through her texts. Chaeyoung and Jungkook had texted her earlier about her little field trip, but she imagined they were either out at a party or asleep at this time of night.

She scrolled down enough to see her old texts from Jennie, which she hadn't gotten around to deleting.

The sight of some of the messages, most of which contained flirtatious banter, tugged at Lisa's heartstrings. She was feeling especially lonely in the quiet night, even among her family being there. The memories of her good times with Jennie weren't helping her get to sleep.

However, before she could look through any more texts, her phone lit up with notice of an incoming call.

Lisa was surprised to see the name of her father at the top of the screen. She hurriedly jumped out of bed, trying her best to be quiet, before grabbing a jacket and heading out onto the hotel balcony.

Lisa answered the call as she leaned against the railing, shivering a little in the cold winter air.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lisa!"

Her father's cheery voice on the other line filled Lisa was a sense of calm. Her father was always joyful and upbeat whenever he talked to her on the phone. He was the only family she had who seemed to look forward to chatting with her.

"You won't believe where I am," Lisa said in a low voice. "I'm on the balcony of a hotel room and mom and Jieun are sleeping inside."

"Wow! You better keep it down, you hear? Your mom will send me death threats if she knows I'm calling you."

Her father used a joking tone, but the implications were serious. Lisa's mother hated even hearing mention of the man's name.

"They dragged me to this wedding for one of Mom's co-workers," Lisa complained, feeling a bit relieved to get her frustrations off of her chest. "I have no idea why, though. Mom's probably just gonna go on and on about Jieun to anyone who listens. So why do I have to be there?"

"Maybe she just wants to spend time with you two?" her dad offered.

Lisa couldn't even believe what she was hearing. Her mother? Wanting to spend time with Lisa?

There was no way! It seemed more likely that she wanted to pretend like Lisa didn't even exist.

"There's no way," Lisa said. "She hates that I didn't decide to be a lawyer like her or Jieun. She's probably just bringing me along to convince me to go after men. Like, 'look at how beautiful this wedding is. Don't you want that for your future, Lisa?'."

Her father chuckled on the other line. "Maybe. But I think she gets frustrated when people choose their own path. I always thought that she might be feeling trapped in her own way of life."

Lisa was sort of stunned into silence by that observation. She'd never thought that her mother might want to let loose and be her own person. In fact, Lisa thought that she was already being herself and doing what she wanted to do. Being a boring, duty-bound, workaholic, no-fun-allowed woman was just who her mother was. Or so it always seemed.

"But...maybe I'm just looking too much into it," her father added after the brief moment of silence. "Still, it doesn't matter. You should do what you want to do and be with whoever you want to be with."

"Yeah," Lisa said, thinking about who she actually wanted to be with. It was easier said than done, getting what you want in life. Unfortunately, some of these things were out of control. She'd learn to accept that Jennie, who she really liked, could never be with her.

As if reading her mind, her dad asked, "How did it go with that girl you talked to me about?"

Lisa sighed, her breath visible in the cold air. "Well...it was great for a little while, but then I guess she thought there were more important things to worry about than me."

"I'm sorry to hear it, kiddo," he said.

"But things always end up working out."

Lisa hummed in agreement, but she didn't really feel it. Some traitorous part of her was actually missing Jennie. Sure, she was angry at her ex-girlfriend, and felt nothing but awkward or irritated around her now. But she'd be lying if she said her original feelings of affection and attraction were completely gone now.

When would Lisa get over it? It was pathetic, thinking of her like this over a month after the breakup.

"Is that why you're not asleep right now?" her father asked. "Worrying about stuff?"

"Yeah...plus I'm not looking forward to this whole wedding ordeal," she replied.

"Well, listen, I'll be back there in a month or two, and when I am, I'll take you out to eat, wherever you want, as much as you want."

That brought a small smile to the blonde's face.

"And where are you this time?"

"Guess you'll find out when I bring you a souvenir." Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm gonna hold you to your promise."

"Make sure you do," her dad said with a laugh.

"Now try to get to sleep. You'll be fine tomorrow. Text me after it and tell me all about it."

"Alright."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Lisa hesitated before returning to the room, looking up to watch the dark sky and crescent moon.

After a few seconds, she felt her eyelids finally starting to get heavy, and she retreated to her bed.