Fools & Secrets ✔️

Doce

The First Love

Chapter 12

Midterms were finally over. It had been a brutal week for both Lisa and Jihyo, with sleepless nights, last-minute study sessions, and early alarms. All Lisa wanted now was to sink into her bed and sleep until she felt human again. No more late-night cramming, no more flipping through notes as the minutes ticked down before an exam. She was mentally and physically exhausted.

"Let's go to Niki's. I need something sweet," Jihyo said, her own dark circles underlining her fatigue.

Lisa glanced at her watch, her mind calculating how much rest she could squeeze in before tackling the rest of the day. "Sure, let's hang out there for an hour―"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jihyo grabbed her arm with a gasp, yanking her attention toward something in the distance. "Madre mía! Look who just came back from the grave."

Lisa frowned, not understanding. What is Jihyo talking about? Her gaze followed Jihyo's, and suddenly her breath hitched. There, not too far away, stood someone she hadn't expected to see again: Song.

He was crouched down beside his sleek red sports car, talking to his younger brother, the same familiar nonchalant expression on his face. His other sibling leaned against the car, disinterested, but the sight of all three brothers together felt like a jolt to Lisa's system. Song had two siblings, both boys, and now, as fate would have it, they all attended the same university as she did.

She swallowed hard, her heart doing an awkward somersault.

"Did you know he came back?" Jihyo asked, still staring at Song, who was oblivious to their presence.

Lisa kept her voice steady, though her stomach fluttered. "Yeah, he called me a few weeks ago."

Jihyo turned to her, wide-eyed. "What the hell?! And what was your reaction?"

Lisa paused, memories of that brief, casual call resurfacing. Song had always been like that—close but distant, leaving just enough of a trail for her to follow without ever letting her catch up. They never dated, not officially. They liked each other, that much was clear, but Song never took it further, leaving Lisa in a constant state of confusion. Moving on from him had been agonizing, especially after he left for Korea.

She let out a heavy breath. Why does she always end up in these messy situations with Korean men?

"So?" Jihyo pressed.

Lisa's gaze softened as she spoke, her words tinged with nostalgia and frustration. "I liked him for six long years, Ji. Of course, I missed him."

Jihyo gave her a sympathetic look. "First love is hard to shake off. But what about your neighbor?"

Lisa blinked, snapping out of her reverie. "What about him? We're nothing."

"Nothing?" Jihyo raised an eyebrow. "You've been spending practically all your time with him and his daughter for the past months."

Lisa crossed her arms, defensive now. "We're only co-existing because of his daughter. And because we're pretending."

"But you like him, don't you?"

Lisa looked away, biting her lip as a wave of emotion crept up. The answer was more complicated than she wanted to admit. "Enough about him, Ji. Let's go."

Before they could walk away, a voice stopped her in her tracks. "Lili!"

Lisa froze for a second, her heart jumping. She turned around and forced a smile. "Oh, oppa. You're here?"