Out of My League | JENLISA

Chapter IV: It's only a first impression

Chapter IV

"So you are from Thailand?" Jennie asked politely from across the table. She and Lisa had entered the first coffee shop they found, which turned out to be a hole in the wall with a lot of plants around, vines taking over the chipped walls. Those along the yellow lights made the place strangely cozy, but still. Jennie would have never taken a target there on a first date (was it their first date?) if she was thinking clearly — which, even minutes later, she still wasn't.

Lisa, however, didn't seem aware of the decoration around her. The whole time, her big brown eyes were fixed on Jennie and that realization made the latter warm inside and out. She tried hiding her blushing with her iced americano brought by the waitress, afraid that Lisa somehow would catch on to her being uncharastically nervous and pull away.

Around her targets Jennie had been always conscious that she was playing a part. It was much like acting. It was scarily easy for her to be someone else. A character she polished to be the perfect soulmate of a target. She was never not in control. But since Lisa had surprised her in that alley, Jennie felt like the floor had collapsed from under her feet with all of her plans and ideas. She didn't know what to do — she didn't know what to even think.

It didn't seem real.

Yet, it was.

"Yes, but I've been in South Korea for ten years now," Lisa explained, taking a big sip of her drink for the first time.

"That's why your Korean is so good then. I thought you were a tourist when I first saw you," she lied. She had planned this lie all week. But as it slipped through her tongue, she felt a weight in her chest.

"No, no. I study at Korea University. I had this school project on street art, so I was-," Lisa paused mid-sentence. She smiled and her face shined so bright it seemed like she had sun in her eyes while staring at Jennie. "Sorry, I still can't believe this is really happening," she whispered.

"Me neither," she looked down at her hand around her cup with a little smile. That part was at least honest. "So Korea University? This must mean you are really intelligent," she said as if she didn't know Lisa's grades since she had been in middle school.

"I was lucky because my mom's boss paid for my studies through my school years, so I had better opportunities than most. I am majoring in Arts. What about you?"

"I'm afraid you found yourself a dumb soulmate. I never went to college, I had to work after my mom's death" she had thought about lying. She had lied about it to all her targets, going as far as pretending to have classes so they would drop her at her supposed campus. They all had already gone to college, so they weren't interested in talking about it. Jennie easily fooled them. As Lisa was still in college, it would be too challenging to lie about it.

Jennie tried to not dwell on her sudden relief of not having to lie about one more thing.

"There are many types of intelligence besides academics," Lisa told her matter-of-factly. "So, what were you doing in that alley with a camera? Were you filming the murals?", she eyed Jennie's camera that was on the table alongside hers.

"Oh. I was trying to... vlog?" It wasn't supposed to sound like a question.

Lisa's eyebrow arched, "are you an influencer?"

"I'm thinking about it, yeah... Why, are you against it?"

Jennie only realized how defensive she sounded when Lisa's doe eyes got wider. "What? No," Lisa quickly said. "Jennie, no, of course not. I'm just trying to get to know more about you, I'm sorry about how that may have sounded? It's just- I'm just so damn nervous, I guess."