What Is - Jenlisa (Book 2)

Chapter 2 - Brewing... Terms

Jennie watched Lisa walk back to her chair, still in disbelief over how Lisa had turned the tables, leaving her utterly speechless, embarrassed, and feeling defeated. Lisa has a way of handling herself that Jennie found both infuriating and strangely fascinating. But when Lisa deliberately pushed her buttons to undermine her in front of their friends, the word 'frustrating' felt like an understatement. Her sarcastic remarks and sharp responses were like tiny needles pricking her skin, those intimidating eyes cut through her self-esteem, and the way Lisa towered over her made her feel so small - all combined left her scrambling to regain control that had slipped out of her hand at that moment.

"She changed... like a lot!" Jennie thought to herself. Different from the one she saw just recently at Jisoo's wedding.

"Shall we begin Ms. Kim?" Lisa's words cut through Jennie's thoughts, snapping her back to reality. With a deep breath, Jennie nodded and adjusted her blazer before taking her seat, ready to face the game Lisa initiated.

"Chef huh?" Taehyung said, eyes lingering on Lisa still in disbelief seeing his little sister in the same room with such a formidable presence. "How come the 'Lisa' who couldn't even cook instant noodles is now a famous chef?" he added stroking his chin while swiveling his chair from side to side.

"Yeah, who would've thought, right?" Rosie chimed in turning her chair to face Lisa. "I had the same question when I met her last year in Italy for a site survey."

"So you knew where she was the whole time and you didn't bother sharing any of this information with me?" Jennie blurted out making the group slowly turn their heads towards her. "Uh, I mean us." she corrected herself quickly with a quivering, hesitant smile before turning to Rosie.

"Um because you didn't ask?" Rosie responded casually. "And why do I need to tell you? I mean, we all have our own lives now and every one stopped looking for her, so I thought it would just bring up something that would only make things complicated." Rosie explained nonchalantly and rolled her chair closer to Jennie.

"And she asked me not to tell anyone, so I made you find her yourself instead, you're welcome?" Rosie whispered to Jennie so none of the others could hear.

"Bitch! You should have warned me!" Jennie whispered back, Rosie just shrugged her shoulders sliding back to her side of the table and scrunching her nose.

"So, how did you become a chef?" Seulgi asked curiously, leaning forward to Lisa. Lisa just laughed quietly before turning to Jennie who's sitting across the table from her.

Flashback

Lisa sat in her bed, fingers hesitating over the phone's touchscreen. The message she wanted to send had been rewritten several times, not sure whether to send it or not. "Hey, I'm bored, mind if you show me around this place?" she initially typed, thumb hovering over the send button.

But uncertainty crept in and immediately erased the message muttering, "No, no, no, no, no, that was too casual for someone you just met."

With a deep breath, she tried again. "Hey Diana, it's Lisa. I had a really great time the other night, and I was wondering if you'd like to hang out again? Maybe grab dinner this time? 😊" Doubts crept in once again and Lisa couldn't help but question her actions. "It's too soon to ask her out, right?" she pondered before plopping down onto her bed and staring at the ceiling.

"But I'm bored and I really don't know anyone here," Lisa muttered to herself, torn between hitting the send button and deleting the message once more. But when she reached for her phone to erase it again it was too late, she accidentally pressed the send button. "Oh crap!" she exclaimed jolting up from her bed. "Damn it!" she muttered under her breath, shoulders slumped realizing that there was no turning back now.