ᖇOOᗰᗰᗩTᗴՏ ᗯITᕼ ᕼIᗰ 《C.TZ × J.JK》

Chapter 71: Mission Poison

The kitchen was deserted upon entering. Lisa hesitantly closed the door behind her, wishing to escape this madness, but Jennie stood by the polished marble counter, watching her every step. Lisa clutched her purse tightly, afraid that her friend would see the velvet pouch she hid.

The place was dark but they could tell that the kitchen used was this one, not the one on the west wing of the mansion, because the stoves and the counter were laid with dirty cooking pots and utensils, and inside the partly open fridge, Lisa spotted platters of sweetened fruits and a variety of pastries. On the bottom shelf sat a half-empty tub of soju bottles and cans.

"Well?" Jennie sneered, slamming down the refrigerator's door. "Come on. We haven't got time." She dug around her large bag and pulled out two wigs, one long and black, the other a dark shade of brown with blue highlights and bangs. She put the shorter one on her head and the wig perfectly concealed her black shoulder-length locks.

The bangs made her look years younger, Lisa wanted to say but didn't dare.

Jennie handed the longer one to her. "Hurry, put it on. Where are your shades?"

Lisa reached forward, hands shaking.

Her stomach twisted into a pretzel.

Jennie had a dangerous medical syrup in her possession and Lisa could only imagine how bad things could get.

She knew what it did.

When she had gotten a very bad case of food poisoning eight years ago, when she was twelve, her doctor had given her a spoonful Ipecac syrup to vomit out the poison. And the taste of it on her weak tongue was so nasty that Lisa thought she was better off with a disturbed belly than put that thing in her mouth again. But her stomach still hadn't settled and she forced to repeat the dose five times more!

And seeing how Jennie was eyeing the empty glass vat that once contained punch, her plans weren't hard to guess. It suddenly made much more sense to Lisa.

Lisa flipped open her hand mirror and clipped back her bangs with bobby pins.

Frustrated at her deliberation, Jennie helped her settle the wig on her head. "Put the damn shades on and come!" She dragged Lisa to the door and tried the handle. It was locked. "('F' word)!"

Relief sat down on Lisa, but panic came next when she realized there could be people outside either door. "What now?"

Jennie looked back and her lips curled disgustingly. "What do you even think of me as?" Swearing to herself, she dialed a number on her phone and cursed when the call wasn't received. "The ('f' word) is he doing?!"

A small shh escaped Lisa and Jennie stared switchblades at her. Lisa shrugged. "Well . . . ? What exactly are you planning to do?" she asked. Of course, she knew that Jennie was going to pour the syrup in the drinks, but questioning her friend like that as she looked pathetic with seemingly no clue what to do next made Lisa's insides warm. She wanted to hear the whole game from Jennie's own mouth. And also, find out if the other little pouch contained the same medicine.

Jennie finally gave in. Lisa hadn't turned her down yet and had come all the way inside the mansion, she realized, so she might as well know what was going on. Jennie had no intention of having Lisa do any work since that girl was bound to always confuse herself when proper instructions weren't given. And it was true that Lisa was bad at cooking up trouble if it involved a big crowd and required careful attention. She'd rather risk an escape and clear her name than actually get the work done. Especially now, now that she was blossoming with newfound care and kindness for everyone around her.