Lookalikes | Jenlisa

Chapter 12 - Daniel Kim

*Third Person's POV*
A couple of days later...

It was necessary that the trio and Lisa act as if nothing had happened. Although they all tried their best, there was still tension evident in the air. And just like that Saturday came and it had been a week since Lisa Manoban became Lilli Kim.

But the changes were visible in the Kim family. As Lilli began to spend more time with her family, things around the house started to change. The problem with the Kim household was their lack of communication. If either Lilli or her family had taken a step to initiate a conversation, then Lilli wouldn't have been this estranged and Mr. Kim and Mrs. Lee wouldn't have felt so guilty. It was obvious that they loved Lilli to death, but somewhere along the way they failed to show it and when Lilli became cold, instead of fighting for her, they gave up and shut themselves off from her life which ended up further frustrating their daughter. With Lisa it was different. Of course, who could help but fall for Lisa Manoban's charm? Her ever-so-intoxicating laughter and personality came out indeed as a surprise to them, but they were happy -- more than ever.

It was in the morning, a new task was presented in front of Lisa.

"Lilli, you are going to the office Today?" Mr. Kim asked as Lilli's parents and Lisa sat down for breakfast.

"Yeah. I have a meeting with one of the shareholders."

"Do you not remember what's it Today?"

"Ah...!!?" She absolutely had no idea.

"She's busy, Honey. It's okay to forget. You don't have to test her memory with it." Mrs. Lee said tapping her husband's shoulder.

"I was just playing around with her." He said laughing. He reminded Lisa of her father sometimes. "Honey, Today is the party at Daniel's. Your Mom and I will be leaving in the afternoon. Jennie and Liam have some appointments Today, so they will join us later. Jisoo said she can't make it because she has another important meeting which I don't know with who." He said playfully, earning another tap from his wife. "You will also come, right? 7'o clock is the party."

She had no clue who this Daniel could be, nevertheless, she had to go.

"Sure! I have a meeting till 2. I have to go meet someone after that. But I will be sure to make it to the party." Lisa said as she got up to leave.

"Thanks, Honey."

"There's nothing to be thankful for, Dad." She turned to leave but stopped as she remembered something. She turned back to her parents, side hugged both of them saying her byes and kissing their heads. Mrs. Lee almost cried, but her husband squeezed her hand smiling contently at her.

"Hi, Minnie." Lisa wished the girl who was seemingly busy with some paperwork.

"Oh, hey, Lis-- Lilli." She wished back, still awkward from the incident.

Lisa plopped herself into Lilli's chair. The cushion instantly calmed her back. "Where are the guys?"

"They had to look for someone. Will be back by evening." Minnie said still avoiding her eyes from Lisa and pretending to look through the papers.

"Oh, I just remembered. Who's this Daniel?"

Minnie finally looked at Lisa in confusion.

"Dad... I mean, Mr. Kim said I have to attend a party of his' Today."

"Ah, that's right. It's Today. I almost missed."

"So... who's it?"

"Your Uncle."

"Hmm?" Lisa arched her eyebrows and spoke suddenly remembering something. "Is he Mr. Kim's brother who was in States?"

Minnie nodded. "Yeah. He's actually Mr. Kim's stepbrother, but no one ever treats him like that. He's one of the members of the board of directors. Everyone is quite fond of him." After a short pause, she said, "Except for Lilli."

Lisa was now curious.

"Why?"

"He knows her issues with her parents so, he tries to make everything about him hers. For example, every party he ever had was to please and boost Lilli, but in fact, it's all just about him. I am sure, this one is going to be not so different." She placed the papers back on the desk and walked to the window. "He always says he and Lilli are similar, but the truth is, he's more like Liam."

"Funny and clueless?"

"No. Cunning and a dark horse." Minnie said without taking her eyes off the view. Lisa swallowed hard. By this time she knew when Minnie speaks in the tone she just did, there must be more to what was seen on the outside. In this case, it meant she should be careful around him. "Oh, and he likes to show off his western knowledge so the party is probably going to be in that style as well. Dress accordingly." Minnie finished and Lisa nodded.

The meeting went well for the most part. Though Lisa got a kick of how things work around in the company, she still couldn't get her head around it. It was not her. After the meeting, she went to her parents. They still had many questions for her regarding her work -- the ones she couldn't answer. She chatted with Dr. Baek for a while regarding everything related to her Mom's surgery. She was anxious, but the Doctor assured her saying that she was more confident in Lisa's Mom's case than she was with Lilli, though she don't want Dal-gun to hear it. That man has the temper of a wild boar.

Following the visit to the hospital, Lisa went home, checked everything was okay with Lilli, and got dressed for the party. It had already started by the time she arrived. There were a few familiar faces, but she didn't recognize most of them. Of course, the trio was present as well. As they spotted Lisa, all three of them made their way to them and only Minnie and Tae-woong greeted her, though she greeted all of them individually. Dal-gun was still not having it.

They were about to speak when a voice called her. It sounded as if the person had a cold for a very long time.

"Lilli, my girl!" The man called.

Lisa looked over to see a man, probably in his late forties, smiling at her with a champagne glass in his hand. His smile was inviting yet there was something else. She turned her look to Minnie and she nodded indicating that he was indeed Daniel Kim. At first, it was hard for Lisa to swallow because the man looked nothing like Lilli's Dad, but then again it's natural, right?

He came forward and hugged Lisa. The hug was different and Lisa felt odd.

"Thank goodness, you are okay, Kiddo. I was worried."

Lisa chuckled nervously and nodded.

"What's wrong? You seem nervous." He inquired.

"Wh-- what? No. I--" She wanted to get out of the situation, but she couldn't get to form a proper lie. But then, she was reminded of a certain cat-eyed girl. "I haven't seen Jennie at all Today, so I was looking for her."

"Oh!" He said blankly. "I think she's in the back."

Lisa smiled more confidently. "I am just going to go find her. I will see you." She said and turned to the three behind her. "See you, guys." With that, she left. Daniel frowned as he looked in the direction Lisa went. He turned his head back to find the three giving him a complex smile. He too left the three there to entertain his guests, with them watching his back.

"Oppa," Minnie called Dal-gun, her voice full of concern. "They met."

"They did." He mumbled as he nodded.