[JENLISA] Age of Death

Chapter 2

I met Kim Jennie a day after chicken tender night, when I nearly hit her with my car. I was lost in my own thoughts on my way to work, and had barely made it down the street from the house before I had to slam on the brakes.

She'd been chasing her escaped dog across the street, and I came so close to hitting her that when we locked eyes through the windshield, I could see her glowing porcelain skin and her natural fiercely cat-eye.

It was the first time I could remember looking at someone's eyes before their cheek. Hers were a beautiful dark brown orbs. Her silky brunette hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, with a couple of stray tendrils framing her face. She was beautiful.

She cradled her dog in one arm and a leash attached to a collar in the other. I didn't make the connection until later that the dog must've slipped his collar while she was taking him for a walk.

I think she was – quite understandably, really – stunned at first, because she didn't move from out in front of my car. I shifted the gear into park and scrambled out, and felt my cheeks heat up as I rushed to apologize to her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you," I explained hastily, my eyes still on her very, very pretty cat-eye. "You're okay, right?"

She blinked back at me, a little wide-eyed, and then turned red right before my eyes. "No, I'm sorry. That was my fault. Kuma here doesn't like to listen to me." She gestured to the dog in her arms.

"He's cute," I said, mostly because I didn't know what else to say. The dog was a cute brown Pomeranian, and he was struggling to get out of her arms, so she knelt down and placed him on the ground, then reattached his leash and collar.

"So do you live around here?" she asked me.

"Yeah, just down the street." I pointed to my house as she straightened back up.

"Nice," she said casually, and smiled at me as though I hadn't just nearly killed her. "My parents and I just moved in last week. We've been transferring from town to town because of their work. I hope to stay here for a long while, since the weather here in Seoul is quite nice."

"Yeah, well... beware the people. I don't think they're as nice as they are in other towns," I warned her. "Everyone's always in a hurry."

"I noticed." She has a cheeky smirk plastered on her face. "I hear they nearly hit you with their cars."

"Ouch." I pressed a hand to my chest, and she laughed at me. Then we shared a smile. There was something about her that made me comfortable in a way I wasn't used to feeling. I'd heard before that sometimes two people could meet and instantly click: instantly know they're going to get along. It was like that with her.

"Alright, well..." she said at last, still cradling Kuma to her chest, "I guess you probably have somewhere to be, but it was nice to meet you, other than the whole near-death experience thing. I'm Jennie, Kim Jennie by the way."

"I'm really sorry," I apologize again.

"It's fine! I'm fine...?" She looked at me expectantly, and I realized she wanted my name.

"Lisa. Lisa Manoban. Okay. Enjoy Seoul, Jennie."

"Oh, I will. Bye, Lisa." She gave me a wave and moved to turn away, and I remembered her left cheek at the last second. My eyes darted to her cheek, and in hindsight, maybe they shouldn't have. Maybe I should've let Jennie be the one untainted human interaction I'd had in years. The one person whose company I'd just enjoyed for a few easy, simple seconds without pondering depressing, existential-crisis-inducing things like her age and cause of death.

But I glanced to her left cheek and swore I saw 23, and then she'd turned away. Walked away. My nosiness was getting the best of me, and I was suddenly doing something I told myself I'd never do. I was caring.