Midmorning sunlight glinted off the city, the arches of the Hangang Bridge rising against a dense, green backdrop of trees and hills. Roseanne sat on a park bench, digging her fingers into the seat. Around her, seagulls swooped, their cries echoing through her mind, jangling her already overstressed nerves.
What she needed was a good kick in the pants to get off her duff and get back to work finding out what had happened to her. What she was doing was waiting for Lisa Manoban.
After three days of languishing over news from Jennie about the blood test results, she'd finally given in and called her. She didn't know why she felt compelled to talk with her, and couldn't explain why Lisa's reaction to her affected her so much. All she knew for sure was that guilt had consumed her every minute of every day since their meeting. And if she didn't do something to fix it, it was going to eat away at her and prevent her from finding the answers she desperately needed.
She knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. And because of that, she tried to put herself in Lisa's position, to imagine what she'd do if Jaehyun suddenly returned from the grave.
Her fingers dug deeper into the seat as anger coursed through her. The first thing she'd do is handcuff him to a chair until she got the answers she was looking for. Then she'd sandblast him for putting her through this nightmare.
On a deep breath, she forcibly released her grip and ran her hands over her hair. Jaehyun wasn't going to rise from the dead. And she was stuck without a past.
She spotted Lisa walking along the riverfront path before she spotted her. That odd sense of déjà vu she'd felt in the street outside her house rushed through her as she watched her. Lisa's hands were tucked in the front pockets of her light grey overcoat, and she wore dark sunglasses over her eyes, but Roseanne didn't miss the scowl on her face. Or the rigid shoulders and stiff back that screamed of her unease at the current situation.
Lisa stopped a few feet away. Clenched her jaw. When Roseanne stood to meet her, her stomach pitched, a reaction she wasn't prepared for.
"Thanks for coming," she managed.
"I'm not entirely sure why I did." There was an icy tone to Lisa's voice she didn't like. Did she use it in her business dealings to intimidate and influence? If so, it was effective.
"I appreciate it, all the same." She shifted her weight, not sure what she wanted to say now that Lisa was standing in front of her. An awkward silence spread between them like a vast ocean.
"I doubt you know anything yet, so why this little meeting?" Lisa asked.
For some reason, Roseanne wanted to reach out and bridge the gap between them. To comfort her. Which was an unexpected reaction.
"No, I don't. Jennie said it would take probably a week for the test results. Which, by the way, I wanted to thank you for agreeing to."
Lisa didn't respond, just rocked back on her heels and watched her. A whiff of her scent drifted on the air, and a shiver of awareness swept over Roseanne when she drew it in, that amazing aroma oddly familiar.
Not familiarity, she told herself. Awareness. Lisa was an attractive and powerful woman, and underneath it all, Roseanne was still human. Even before any of this had happened, she'd thought she was gorgeous. The tabloids and magazines, though, didn't do her justice. Her nose was perfect, as well as the shape of her face, her features chiseled and so very attractive. And her mouth...
Her gaze traveled to her lips. Full. Smooth. Tempting. She wondered what it would feel like to brush her thumb across that bottom lip. Lisa had a sensual mouth that at one time she'd probably kissed and tasted and claimed as her own.
