Jenlisa Oneshots

the art of chess strategy

There are four concrete chess tables, two on each side of the path, under the shade of several large oaks.

Lisa doesn't notice them the first time she plops down to shake a pebble out of her left shoe. She doesn't notice them the second time, the last warm day of late summer, when she stops to finish her ice cream cone that's dripping too much to eat while walking. She doesn't even notice the third time really, not at first and not on her own.

No, Lisa's only collapsed on a seat because the prettiest girl she's ever seen is sitting across the path, completely oblivious to the way she's brought Lisa's entire world to a screeching halt.

Lisa was minding her own business, kicking rocks along the path as usual, when a bright laugh drew her attention. As someone whose smile has been described as happiness personified, she never passes up the opportunity to find something in the world to smile at. So Lisa's head moved on a swivel, trying to find the source of the melodic laughter. Once she did, Lisa found herself stumbling sideways, tripping over air, until she felt the cool stone of a bench though her pant leg. Then she was dropping heavily onto the horizontal surface, thankful to be further down the path and slightly behind and across from the stunning woman with the brilliant eyes.

Lisa's still sprawled on the bench, unintentionally enraptured with observing the other woman. Her hands are flying as she smiles and talks, and her long fingers nearly clip the chess pieces in front of her, but they float daintily above every time. She's cursing the angle a little bit because she can see her sharp jawline and the curve of her cheek but not those captivating eyes and heart-stopping smile.

Lisa's so caught up trying to will her mystery woman into turning around so she can catch another glimpse without being a complete creeper, that she misses everything going on right in front of her.

"Young lady."

The strident and almost censorious tone startles Lisa out of her intent fascination. She glances across the table to see an elderly woman sitting there, a full chess setup suddenly on the table between them. Lisa looks down, then back up again, floundering in complete confusion.

"I know she's a looker, but it's your move."

"I"—she tries to find a gentle way out of this—"I'm not here to—"

"These seats are reserved for chess players," the woman corrects her sharply, sounding as if she's said this before, "And the longer you sit here, the longer you can stare at the pretty girl."

This time, Lisa's more collected so she finally realizes this woman is again busting her chops for staring. Properly scolded and called out, she looks down at the chess board to find the black pieces neatly lined up in front of her on the board etched into the concrete tabletop. Without much thought, Lisa pushes a pawn forward a square before glancing over to the mystery woman again.

"You really that distracted?" she asks with a scoff, "Or just stupid?"

Lisa splutters a bit, not expecting the blunt insult. "I'm not"—she immediately tries to deny and then admits on a sigh—"Distracted, I guess."

"Mmhmm," the woman agrees with a raised eyebrow.

Her phone beeps, and Lisa fishes it out of her pocket to find a text message from Jisoo wondering why the hell she isn't back from lunch yet.

"I'll see you on Friday."

Lisa looks up as the woman carefully packs away her chess set into a felt-lined wooden box. Now that she's focused, she sees that the pieces are also wood, worn, and well-loved. Suddenly and inexplicably, she's feeling extremely guilty for being inattentive and neglectful to this perfect stranger.