CHAPTER 18/?

In a dim lit room, Jennie could hear her own heart pounding against her chest. If it weren’t for the table lamp on her right side, she would probably be struck with aneurysm because of the lack of light inside the dingy looking interrogation room.

The man sitting in front of her does not calm her nerves down. His stares remind her of Vultures that she watched on National Geographic channel a few nights ago.

 Bald, wrinkly and just plain ugly.

Jennie couldn’t ignore the bushy moustache on the officer’s face that’s begging to be shaved.

All of a sudden, he turns the table lamp straight to her face causes the heiress to flinch in displeased.

“What were you planning to do with the kid?” 

Jennie wanted to say that she want to strangle the kid and kick the little brat’s for being so rude but that wouldn’t seems a good idea to blurt out in front of a police officer.

“I wasn’t planning on doing anything” Jennie utters “This is all a big misunderstanding. I know the kid, she knows me as well… Can you please move the light off my face”

“Don’t give me that crap. I’ve seen a lot of you people, lurking around parks. Offering candies and snatching those poor bastards into a minivan”

“What do you mean people like me? I was just on my way back from working. The kids suddenly throw a snowball at me and spilled drinks on my shirt. Like, how many times do I need to repeat myself?”

Jennie almost jumps off her seat when the burly looking vulture slams the metal table all of a sudden. In the process, she flinches in pain as she accidentally pulls her arms that chained on the table.  

“Bull! What did you wanted to do huh Punk? Tore the kid apart and steal their kidney and sell it off to the Black Market??”

“EWW…The hell are you talking about??”

“Face it Punk. You’re dead. You’ll be in jail in no time and I bet your sorry you’re gonna cry your pathetic life to sleep every night in that cold prison floor”

Eu talks about bad breath. Get a mint for God sake. Jennie cringes, pulling herself away from the ugly vulture.

“You have no solid evidence against me. You can’t hold me against my will for too long. I know my right”

The vulture baldy points his finger at her, not so subtly taunting her with his menacing look. “You think you’re so smart? You think you’ll get away from this easily eh?”

Before the ugly police officer could interrogate her even more, other more-decent looking officer comes into the room.

“Fortunately for you, there’s no solid proof indicating that any kidnapping occurs in the first place, but you are charged with disorderly conduct. Either you spend a night in jail or you can have one call to bail you out Miss Kim.”

“Can you guys lend me charger then? My phone ran out of juice”

“Where do you think you are? Apple store? use the payphone kid” the vulture looking officer chirps in.

Jennie lifts her arm, gesturing the chain around her wrist “I kinda need my hand here”

*

Jennie stares hard at the payphone

The struggle is definitely not what she thought she would encounter in a million years. It never crosses her mind that one day she needed to do this…

Memorizing phone numbers

Gasp

Who on earth in this modern days world still need to memorize phone numbers? Who????

Think Jennie, think. There must be phone numbers that you remember???

The sound of annoying laughter hits her eardrums, she glances to her left and is welcome by the ugly officer, munching on his doughnut – more like inhaling them – while looking at her.

“Take all the time you want Kid, although, I would suggest you to spend the night here in our very prestigious eyeB&B cell”

It’s Airbnb you dimwit… now now Jennie, you should swallow this down, you don’t want to get into jail for spitting profanities at police officers.

“Kids nowadays are such wimp. They can’t even do simple task like this. Best believe me,  You people, are the generations that are going to destroy our great land America. Lord saves the USA”

Ignoring the trump-lookalike rants, Jennie focuses on carrying out her task. All of a sudden, she remembers one particular number.

She grimaces in pain at the realization.

“Oh no….” she mutters under her breathe

.

.

.

**

Jisoo hugs the daylight out of her little girl “I ll see you tomorrow okay?” basking in the warmness that the younger girl emits “I’m sorry that I always leave you at grandpapa’s house. I promised I’ll make it up to you after all my schoolwork is done”

“It’s okay Miss Jisoo. I understand” Elle smiles.

She pats the other girl’s head lovingly “Such a sweetheart, how about we’ll go to the ice-cream parlour next time. Okay?”

The bright smile on Elle’s face swoons Jisoo’s heart. She would do anything to keep that gem on her daughter’s face. She gives the other girl a peck on both cheeks. The crimson hues on the younger’s face did not go unnoticed.

“What about me?”

Jisoo playfully glares at the other person, who’s leaning against the passenger’s door.

“No”

Jisoo helps her daughter get into the car. She turns and look at the other woman. “I’m sorry again about this Wen”

Wendy waves her off “It’s fine, I understand, don’t worry about it. Anyway, I don’t understand how are you even failing the subject”

“That’s because I don’t possess business mind like you guys”

“You could’ve just asks your sister. You know that right?”  Wendy suggest

“Not in a million years. I don’t think I can take teasing from Unnie about this. I would like to keep some dignity that I have left.”

“I don’t get this sister’s rivalry thingy” Wendy gestures with her hand “But! I don’t feel like meddling with that either”

“You’d eventually have to meddle with this ‘sister’s rivalry’ after getting married Wen” Jisoo chuckles

The Canadian woman groans playfully

“So… did… Jennie contacted you?” Jisoo placed her words carefully. Not wanting the other woman to feel suspicious about her, suddenly asking about the heiress.

Wendy sighs and shook her head “No. Her sister called off the search as well”

“What? Why??”

“Jessica Unnie wants to give a little time for Jennie to do whatever she wants to do now before she goes off searching again” Wendy tucks her hair behind her ears “As much as I want to continuously go and look for her, but I think, Jennie probably has her own reasons disappearing like that”

“Why do you guys do that?” Jisoo genuinely baffled at how laid back the answer was. It’s like everyone is giving the heiress a free pass to do whatever she wants no matter how ridiculous it is.

“Do what?”

“Like you guys just let her do whatever she wants to do and don’t question her at all?”

Jisoo just don’t understand why. If that were to happen to her sister or vice versa, her family would go high and low looking for them. Not that running away from home would ever occur to her. The idea of doing so is just preposterous. Who would want to run away from their own family?

The Canadian woman gives a small smile “Jennie is… different. She basically lives alone for the most part of her life. Understandably she had a lot of feelings about that particular period. Sometimes she needed alone time and other part she would crave other’s attention” Wendy chuckles “We’re used to her antics. Not that she ever asked us to do anything bizarre or illegal. Calling off the search… I guess, in a way, her sister is compensating for all the time that they weren’t there” 

Jisoo keeps mum, processing a bit of information about Jennie. Wendy pats Jisoo’s head ‘Well, I got to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”

The other woman nodded

As Wendy was just about to enter her car, Jisoo calls her name

“Where’s her parents?”

It took the Canadian few seconds to respond with