To All The Girls I've Loved Before - Jenlisa

Chapter 31

Late 2023 (less than a month after)

"You're Jen's plus one, right?"

If Lisa could count the number of times she stiffened tonight due to that question, she would have laughed at how indicative it was of how confined they feel in South Korea. At any given time in New York, she would be comfortable with anyone potentially indicating they're either curious or aware that she's bisexual or at least an indication that she was Jen's partner then, but now in South Korea it's like being back to their high school memories and closeted tendencies.

Not that she even bothered hiding in South Korea since she arrived, really, but she wasn't sure exactly what Jen had announced, or even NOT announced. And company politics was all about perfect images and massive power play, especially in a corporate evening like this, a gala where most of the consultants in Jen's company are present.

Something Lisa knew about, because she has used that same power play to her advantage as the New York-educated forward-thinking Creative Director of their agency. The foreigners love her, the kids look up to her, and those who have an opinion...well, let's just say at the risk of being labelled a homophobe and ruining their careers, they've wisely shut their mouths.

Lisa carefully studied the Korean guy who just slid beside her from out of nowhere. Perfectly tailored coat, slicked-back hair, skin that had a slight roughness to it that wasn't as common with the pearl-skinned faces of the younger Seoul locals: undeniably every bit the prototype of a banker or a strategy guy from Korea.

Such a good thing she thought to dress up when Jen asked her to accompany her to their company event. Her tall stilettos put her eye to eye with the guy, and her lace mid-sleeve slim-cut black dress may seem demure on the surface but enhanced all her features as she subconsciously straightened herself, ready for another round of superficial socials.

"Yes, I'm Lisa Manoban. You are?"

The guy warmly and courteously accepted Lisa's outstretched hand. It threw her off a little.

"Ben Lee, nice to meet you. I worked with Jen in the New York offices before."

That explains his accented Korean, though it still doesn't explain the warmth in his demeanour. Lisa was used to egotistic predatory charm, having had her share of introductions from other men who approached her while she was alone tonight.

"Ah, a co-townie," Lisa replied, now with a slightly easy smile as she switched to her accented New York English. She often did whenever she met anyone from New York, like a discovered secret comrade of some sort. "I studied in NYU myself." And when it felt a little inadequate, Lisa immediately followed up with: "Jen's a childhood friend."

It felt like a relatively acceptable and easy answer – not exactly a lie, but not fully the truth either. And she has been giving pretty much different variations of the same answer tonight.

The problem started when Lisa looked like a deer caught in headlights right after the initial rounds of introductions when the blonde realised that she and Jen haven't exactly talked about how to approach their status in Korea. Jen took one look at her and realised that she's in panic, then gracefully introduced Lisa to her managers as 'Lisa Manoban, the prodigious Rankin and Leibovitz intern who's now one of the youngest Creative Directors for one of the top creative agencies in Seoul.'

It was a polite, thoughtful introduction and no one asked anything, but it still felt a little off especially if someone recognised Lisa and knew of her strong reputation. They're in a function that could jeopardise Jen's career if they got attached with a somewhat scandalous status, and all Lisa could do was buy time until she gets Jen alone to explain this situation.