Mr Manoban's Daring Wife [Jenlisa]

Chapter 59: All Alone

Sky Arc Complex.

Kwon Jiyong blankly stared at the empty, black monitor. His face was stony and hard to read even for his wife and daughter.

Park Chaerin thought to herself, was this where her daughter got her genes from? People always compared Jennie to her father. Stoic face, aloof personality, and determined eyes, they shared the same expressions that always masked their bad temper.

Who knew she would inherit the worst attributes of her parents? From her mother's alcoholic tendencies to her father's scheming ways. Unlike her little sister who mirrored her mother's beauty and exhibits her father's confidence, she didn't inherit anything good.

Park Chaerin couldn't handle her husband's blank face anymore. He was so hard to read at times, especially at this moment where she was scared, he might cause another scene. She leaned closer to him and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." He immediately replied, averting her gaze to stare at the entrance of the building.

Park Chaerin frowned at his cold-shoulder, before stubbornly crossing her arms and deciding to ignore him as well.

Kwon Jin Ah understood her father's expression. To others, it looked as if she got her parents' doting without any effort. But that was a lie.

At a young age, she had quickly realized the difference in treatment between her and her sister. Even with that disparity, their childhood had been filled with sweet stolen moments of sisterhood.

Her award-winning pianist Jennie sister doted on her by teaching her how to play the piano. With both of them excelling in the same instrument, she originally thought that their parents' affections would now be balanced.

Unfortunately, it was all wishful thinking. She couldn't help but lock herself in her room and cry for days when all they did was compare them. When Jennie had ceased to pursue fame as a pianist and had started training to become the future matriarch of the Kim household, their relationship also got strained.

Kwon Jin Ah didn't know the real reason why her older sister stopped pursuing the piano, despite the fact that it was one of the few things that made her very happy. She didn't know that Jennie had occasionally heard her cry in her room for missing a key and not being as good as her older sister.

Deep down, she harbored a dark hatred for Jennie. The misunderstanding between them was strong, but even if the truth was revealed, Jin Ah would've never forgiven her older sister.

Without the warmth of her sister, she had to grow up navigating her parents' emotions. It was all the timing of knowing what to say and when to say it. From the years of experience, she has honed the skill to a very high level of manipulation. She knew by successfully becoming a pianist that followed both her mother and father's wishes, they would completely adore her.

Given the fact that she always bragged and showcased her parent's affections in front of Jennie who rarely got any of it, the distance between her and her older sister had grown further apart.

Studying her parent's emotions at a very young age, she was quick to pick up their current mood. Right now, she could see the storm brewing within her father. She knew he didn't want to cause a further embarrassing scene, but that didn't suppress his wish to punish Jennie for this humiliation.

Kwon Jin Ah glanced at the elevator door that looked so closely, yet was so far away. She stared at the intricate metal work on the elevator and marveled at the designer's keen eye for details.

Sometimes, Kwon Jin Ah would wonder if Jennie did not stop playing the piano, or if Jennie did not teach her, would she have been forced into a music career? There was a point in time where Kwon Jin Ah wanted to be an architect...but Jin Ah knew that was an impossible dream.

If Kwon Jin Ah wanted the love and support of her parents, she would need to abandon her high hopes. She had watched as they quickly discarded her sister, their own daughter.

Her mother wanted to brag about being a world-renowned pianist mother and her father wanted the perfect lady. If she pursued a field her father deemed "only suitable to men", Jin Ah would lose everything she worked so hard to gain.

Aside from her parents, she has no one in this world. Everyone in the Kwon family is scheming to secure their inheritance, trying their hardest to gain Kwon Jae Wook's affection while pushing their own kin down, and she had seen multiple attempts of her uncle attempting to ruin her father.

The fighting and money-grabbing schemes made the Kwon family a very dangerous place to stay. And without the protection of her parents, Jin Ah would've been trampled by her relatives. That was exactly what was supposed to happen to Jennie, but either by pure luck or skills, she was able to garner the protection of the Head Monarch, Kwon Jae Wook himself which made her practically untouchable.

Bitterly, Kwon Jin Ah thought about how her grandfather only acknowledged Jennie and one of her cousins. The gap between her sister and her had become irreparable.

From being too sheltered at a young age and drowned in her parent's attention, Jin Ah was too naive and didn't think about venturing outside of her comfort zone.

This resulted in her detachment from the socialite circle. Sure, she had a few acquaintances, but neither of them considered her as a good friend. Unlike Jennie, her parents kept a tight leash on her and she was homeschooled from a very young age while her sister can go out and about without a care.

Jennie had even spent more time in the Manoban mansion than their family home. When Jin Ah was sent across seas to study piano, she wasn't able to make any lasting connections.

Kwon Jin Ah bitterly hated Jennie for her ability to control the socialite circle and rule over it with a mighty fist. When everyone crowded Jennie in hopes of currying favors to the future "Madam Kim", she didn't bother with helping her younger sister enter the social circle.

Jennie had witnessed personally how vicious these women were. In hopes of shielding and protecting her younger sister, she had deliberately left her out any socialite events.

But Kwon Jin Ah refused to believe it was because her older sister was sheltering her. She thought it was because the socialite circle was the only place her older sister got to shine, so she tried her best to keep Jin Ah out of it in fear of stealing the limelight.

And for the next few years, Kwon Jin Ah would never get to meet the fellow rich heirs, heiresses, and children of wealthy families.

That was until she met the kind and welcoming Krystal who was quickly climbing the ranks in the socialite circle for being the love of Kai's life.

Unlike her older sister who never introduced her to any of her friends, Krystal actually invited Jin Ah into the circle. Thanks to Krystal's influence, she was able to make a lot of new friends and was quickly integrated into the socialite ring. And because Krystal was extremely likely to become "Madam Kim", a lot of the women flocked to her — crowding her the same way they used to do so with Jennie.