The Kiss

Chapter 1

"I know you hate surprises, Lisa. In the interests of communicating our expectations and providing you a reasonable timeline, you should know we're ready for grandchildren."

Lalisa Manobal's gaze jumped from her breakfast up to her mother's gracefully aging face. A subtle application of makeup drew attention to battle-ready, coffee-colored eyes. That boded ill for Lisa. When her mother got something into her mind, she was like a honey badger with a vendetta—pugnacious and tenacious, but without the snarling and fur.

"I'll keep that in mind," Lisa said.

Shock gave way to rapid-fire, panic-scrambled thoughts. Grandchildren meant babies. And diapers. Mountains of diapers. Exploding diapers. And babies cried, soul-grating banshee wails that even the best sound-canceling headphones couldn't buffer. How did they cry so long and hard when the were so little? Plus, babies meant husbands. Husbands meant boyfriends. Boyfriends meant dating. Dating meant sex. She shuddered.

"You're thirty, Lali dear. We're concerned that you're still single. Have you tried Tinder?"

She grabbed her water and gulped down a mouthful, accidentally swallowing an ice cube. After clearing her throat, she said, "No. I haven't tried it."

The very thought of Tinder—and the corresponding dating it aimed to deliver—caused her to break out in a sweat. She hated everything about dating: the departure from her comfortable routine, the conversation that was by turns inane and baffling, and again, the sex...

"I've been offered a promotion," she said, hoping it would distract her mother.

"Another one?" her father asked, lowering his copy of the 'The Korea Herald' so his wire-framed glasses were visible. "You were just promoted two quarters ago. That's phenomenal."

Lisa perked up and scooted to the edge of her seat. "Our newest client—a large online vendor who shall remain nameless—provided the most amazing datasets, and I get to play with them all day. I designed an algorithm to help with some of their purchase suggestions. Apparently, it's working better than expected."

"When is the new promotion effective?" her father asked.

"Well . . ." The hollandaise and egg yolk from her crabcakes Benedict had run together, and she attempted to separate the yellow liquids with the tip of her fork. "I didn't accept the promotion. It was a principal econometrician position that would have had five direct reports beneath me and require much more client interaction. I just want to work on the data."

Her mother batted that statement away with a negligent wave of her hand. "You're getting complacent, Lili. If you stop challenging yourself, you're not going to make any more improvement with your social skills. That reminds me, are there any coworkers at your company who you'd like to date?"

Her father set his newspaper down and folded his hands over his rounded belly. "Yes, what about that one fellow, Jeon Jungkook? When we met him at your last company get-together, he seemed nice enough."

Her mother's hands fluttered to her mouth like pigeons homing in on breadcrumbs. "Oh, why didn't I think of him? He was so polite. And easy on the eyes, too."

"He's okay, I guess." Lisa ran her fingertips over the condensation on her water glass. To be honest, she'd considered Jungkook. He was conceited and abrasive, but he was a direct speaker. She really liked that in people. "I think he has several personality disorders."

Her mother patted Lisa's hand. Instead of putting it back in her lap when she was done, she rested it over Lisa's knuckles. "Maybe he'll be a good match for you, then, dear. With issues of his own to overcome, he might be more understanding of your Asperger's."