The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

14| Proxy

"Well?" Somi demanded as soon as  she came in through the door.

"Good afternoon to you too, I'm fine thank you, no Lisa is still conked out," Jennie chuckled.

"Unnie!" Somi pouted.

Jennie had kept a tight lip all morning, not even relenting when Irene had to leave.

"Somi get her for me," Irene had ordered and for once, Somi obeyed without question—she pestered Jennie until she and Matthew had to leave.

 Somi was determined to get to the root of it by the end of the day and luckily, she was still seeing Jennie in the evening.

"Aren't you tired of being all mysterious?"

"Hmm," Jennie said now as she strolled over to the bars where people did pull-ups. She ran a finger along the metal, brushing off dust. "Maybe it's because...I'm ashamed I kept my head buried in the sand and let the issue grow too much instead of tackling it head on."

"Oh," Somi said thoughtfully, "like...procrastination?"

The older girl nodded, her face grim. "Only my reasons for stalling aren't exactly related to procrastination..."

"Then?" 

Jennie hummed as she stretched. "Remember I said mentally, Lisa's tired? I may have underestimated its hindering quality..."

"To the point of allowing her to endure all that battering?" Somi gasped. "Over and over again?"

Jennie looked away. "She was handling it well..."

Somi stared, slack-jawed. 

"Yeah I'm the bad guy," Jennie sighed. "But I'm gonna try and fix this. Lisa....she needs to get better....in time for the Grand Slam qualifiers."

 "B-but....but..."

"Money," Jennie sighed. She spread her arms to indicate the gym. "It's all about the damn money....and Lisa is the only one bringing it in!"

She clenched her fist. "It's never enough...we're always needing to fix something, to pay off some bill, to buy food...we always need it...and I'm the fool for even dreaming that we'll get out of this wretched situation one day by pinning all my hopes on my little sister and driving her on..."

Jennie sank down in a chair behind the desk, glancing around the empty gym with a painful smile. "I honestly don't know why I'm keeping this place open. It would be one less expense to worry about...."

"Don't say that!" Somi said in alarm. "Come on, Dad and I love it, and so does Irene. Momo comes here too whenever she's in Korea, and those people in the afternoon sometimes—"

"It's not enough, Mimi," Jennie said quietly, "nor is my diner job enough. Lisa is the only one bringing in the buck."

She shook her head. "If I shut down the gym, Lisa and I would lose the apartment too, because that was the stupid contract. And without this place, we won't have anywhere to go...so we have to stay open...even if everybody stops coming here."

She straightened. "I think I will have to close early today, since Lisa won't be here to keep an eye on things."

"I can stay!" Somi volunteered. Jennie shook her head.

"Thanks sweetie, but if something happens, you'll be held liable and I'll be charged with negligence, since you're not an employee. I can't risk that happening."

Somi's enthusiasm wilted, her face turning glum. "Wish Momo was back already...Lisa feels better with her around and she could look after the gym while you're gone."