YOUNG LOVE || 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐀 ✔︎

twenty-three

By the time Lisa handed over the floor plans to Bambam the next day—after she'd tweaked it yet again—it was close to two in the afternoon. Lunch had been vegetables shoved into a pita, hardly enough to make a dent in her appetite. She wondered if Jennie would be interested in an early dinner. Jennie had offered to pick her up, but Lisa didn't really think they should go house hunting in a Mercedes. They were less likely to call attention to themselves in her very nondescript white pickup.

As soon as she pulled into Jennie's driveway, Jennie was out the door and heading her way. Lisa couldn't keep the smile from her face as their eyes met. This was the most casual she'd seen Jennie dressed in fifteen years. Khaki pants and loafers and a silky blue blouse she was as beautiful as ever.

"Are you sure you don't want to take my car?" Jennie asked before getting in.

"Afraid to be seen in my truck, are you?"

"Of course not. I would rather you drive anyway. That way, I can do more looking," she said with a grin. Lisa arched an eyebrow and Jennie rolled her eyes.
"At houses," Jennie clarified.

"Oh, I see," she said, her voice teasing. "I'm your chauffeur today."

"Yes. So where are you taking me?"

"Let's do Lost Creek. There are lots of nice homes. Some are...well, a bit too uppity for me, but you may like them."

Jennie laughed. "Uppity?"

"Fancy."

Jennie's smile faded a little. "I want something that feels like home. My parents' place—the mansion—was more museum than home. Where I live now, the only time it felt like a home was when Minjoon was there." She looked away. "Even then, it was still so sterile. That never changed."

"What are you looking for?"

Jennie turned back to her. "Something normal. I just want...normal," she said. "I don't want to be waited on hand and foot. I don't want meals hot and on the table, waiting for the appropriate dinner hour." She paused. "I don't know how to do laundry," she said. "And you already know I can't cook. Those are two things I want to learn how to do."

"You know, I was telling my mother that you were born into the wrong family. That all the things your family name and wealth afforded you were all things you didn't want."

"I didn't know any better, Lisa. Not until you came into my life. That's when I learned that no matter what my name was or how much money I had, happiness can't be bought. All those other things ceased to matter when I was with you."

Lisa kept her eyes fixed on the road, afraid to look at Jennie. She was surprised by her honesty. She only wished those words had been said sixteen years ago. At her continued silence, Jennie cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry."

Lisa finally looked at her. "Nothing to be sorry about, Jennie. We were kids. And we didn't know what the hell we were doing." She looked back to the road. "So, have your parents cornered you yet?"

"Oh, yes. They were waiting for me after lunch yesterday."

"Since you're still going house hunting, I assume you won round one," she said.

"Actually, my father won round one," Jennie said. "All these years, I always assumed my mother had the final say. Turns out that wasn't the case at all. My father was mostly oblivious to how things were with me."

"So you're really going through with it then?"

Jennie seemed surprised by her question. "The divorce? Yes, Lisa. Did you think I wasn't serious?"