The No Kiss Contract (Jensoo)

11

Jennie pulled into Jisoo's driveway on Friday night; the house was dark and unwelcoming. She approached the front door and rang the bell but there was no answer. She checked the time on her phone. Jisoo had said to meet her at nine p.m., and it was ten past.

The smooth granite of the top step of the porch looked inviting, so Jennie eased herself down onto the cool stone and let it soothe her after a long, sweaty, dusty day indoors. She couldn't even be annoyed by Jisoo's absence, so happy was she to be off her feet. Moving day was tomorrow and the past two days had been nonstop packing and tying up a thousand loose ends. Her to-do list was still a mile long, but Jisoo wouldn't be around tomorrow, so she needed to pick up keys.

It was heavenly to be sitting on the shadowy porch with nothing to do but wait. Her mind settled from the endless rejiggering of priorities and tasks to complete, and as she sat in the dark she became aware of the chorus of cicadas and the wafting scent of honeysuckle. Darling Drive was tranquil, unlike the constant sound of activity that accompanied her soon-to- be-former apartment. She would miss the morning light and the space to work, but was glad to leave behind the regular thump of a cleaver from the restaurant kitchen downstairs, the clang and clatter of pots and dishware, and the Cantonese cursing when the dishwasher had broken down yet again.

A black sedan rolled up to the curb and Jisoo appeared from the back seat. She hurried up the front path with her head down while fumbling in her briefcase and had almost reached the door when Jennie quietly said, "Hi."

Jisoo dropped her bag and clutched at her heart with both hands. "Jennie! You scared the living shit out of me. I didn't see you."

"Maybe put your porch lights on a timer?" She stood. "You didn't see my car in the driveway? Did you forget I was coming?"

Jisoo gazed at Jennie's car in the driveway, and then turned back. "No, I didn't forget. I didn't see your car." She picked up her bag and rummaged again, quickly producing her house keys. "Sorry. I was congratulating myself for getting here before you. I was going to pretend to be mad at you for being late and everything."

Jennie put her hands in her pockets. "You can still be pretend mad if you want. I was ten minutes late."

The side of Jisoo's mouth curled up in an alluring way. "I pretend forgive you. Come on in."

She followed Jisoo through the foyer and into the kitchen, where Jisoo headed straight for the fridge. "Something to drink? I'm having wine. It's Friday, and it's been a fucking day."

"I hear that. Wine sounds good."

Jisoo's kitchen was large and very white. It was exceptionally clean, with all the fancy appliances that were in vogue right now, but it seemed vacant, unlived in. There were two stools tucked under the island in a space that looked like it could accommodate at least four more, but the large adjacent nook where a sizable table and chairs could go was empty. Jennie recalled from the party that most of the other rooms were empty as well.

"When did you move in here?" she asked.

Jisoo retrieved delicate stemmed glasses from the cupboard and poured from a bottle of white. "Beginning of May. Sauvignon blanc okay?"

"Sure." That was two months ago. "Don't you have furniture?"

"Not much." Jisoo took a sip and sank onto one of the stools. She pulled the other one out for Jennie to sit on. "The buyer of my place in the city liked my stuff so he made me an offer that included the furniture. It was all pretty modern—lots of chrome and glass and leather. It wouldn't really fit here, and I had kind of outgrown that look. I brought a few things—my bed, my favorite chair, books, kitchen stuff. I got these stools online, but I haven't had time to shop for anything else."