Chapter 22

"With emphasis on the second 'really'," Lisa tried to be funny because Jennie haven't said a word yet, who went still and silent and was just staring at Lisa with an unreadable expression on her face.

And just when Lisa have decided that she was about to drop the matter and pretend that nothing ever happened because Jennie was nonresponsive about it, Jennie suddenly dropped the spoon she was holding and cupped Lisa's face with her both hands, which was cold and shaking, by the way, and just stared at Lisa's eyes, lost for words.

Just seconds ago, while she was listening to and comprehending Lisa's shub mak-whatever and Lisa translating it for her, telling her that she really really likes her, all Jennie could think about was those plump lips and how it was moving beautifully while saying those Thai words. It sounded more beautiful than when being translated, those shub mak thing. Or maybe it sounded beautifully because Lisa said it?

And now...

Now that Jennie was cupping Lisa's face and holding it tightly while staring and searching for something   at those soft brown eyes and how it was staring back at her with a mix of incredulousness and confusion and amusement, Jennie felt utterly weak, stupid and embarrassed.

What was she thinking when she thought she could just grab Lisa by the face and aim for a kiss? A kiss?? Preposterous and impulsive. That's what she was. But those pouted plump lips which looked gorgeously bewildered still looked, well, enticing and inviting for a kiss.

A kiss, which Jennie thought she would and could aggressively initiate, was not an option anymore. Because 1) Lisa was way taller than her. Therefore, 2) she, Jennie, had to tiptoe to reach in for a kiss, which would look like she was forcing Lisa or forcing herself on Lisa, which, either way, would be embarrassing, and 3) and the most vital of all was that she didn't know how to kiss. Or to respond to a kiss, should Lisa kiss her. And those three facts made her want to just evaporate off the earth. She's twenty-four, she had been to and lived in a city like New York, where kissing was an everyday normal thing, and she still didn't know how to kiss. What. An. Embarrassment.

"Jennie, what are you doing?" Lisa asked. She sounded a little comical, with how her voice sounded like she was suffering from a bad toothache, because her face was contorted from Jennie's tight grip.

Jennie looked at Lisa one more time as if she was seeing her for the first time. Beautiful and funny, with those soft brown eyes that was causing her to act weird and funny and panicky, and her heart was currently doing flips and turns and all the possible types of somersaultings. All because Lisa was gazing at her. It was crazy!

Jennie loosened her grip a little on Lisa's face, but still cupping it gently. She realized she never wanted to let go of it anymore.

"Lisa, did you just say you like me? Like, really really like me?" Jennie asked.

Lisa looked embarrassed but still nodded. It was now or never, she told herself. "Yes, Jennie. I think I did, yeah," she said, going crimson in the face.

"But you can't like me, Lisa!" Jennie said wildly and finally letting go of Lisa's face, as if it was burning the sensitive tissues on her palms. Which she regretted almost instantly because the soft skin on her palms honestly felt comfortably warm and ridiculously contented against Lisa's warm cheeks. And based on the despondent look on Lisa's face, Jennie figured that Lisa took her words the wrong way.

"Oh. Okay," Lisa muttered, looking hurt and dejected. So much for taking the risk, she thought. "May I ask why?" she asked in a depleted tone.

"Because..." Jennie started by releasing a sigh. "Because I like you too a lot, Lili. Like, really a lot! And if you really like me, then it will only mean that we should do something about this. And I...I honestly don't know what to do from this point on," Jennie confessed.

"O...kay. How about we pretend that this moment never happened at all while we finish off the stew that you just made?" Lisa suggested coolly.

"Don't be silly. You know that's not even possible," Jennie said, shaking her head in bewilderment.

"Or maybe we need to sit down and talk about this like two grownups?" Lisa suggested again.

"'Like two grownups?'" Jennie scoffed. "I don't even feel like a grown-up right now, to be honest," she said.

"Why? How do you feel?" asked Lisa.

"Like a foolish highschool girl who just had her first taste of what it feels like to be this ludicrously happy," Jennie said with a gummy smile painted on her face, shaking her head.

Lisa laughed and said, "Come here, you," with her arms widely opened, waiting and inviting Jennie for a hug.

Jennie obliged and melted on Lisa's arms instantly. It was so warm and soft and comfortable. And home. She wanted it badly to make it her home, the way Lisa's arms were wrapped around her and the way Lisa smelled like chocolate and film.

Her heart was full but surprisingly felt light. Like a balloon overloaded with helium and the pressure inside was building rapidly, that Jennie thought her heart would just burst out open and reveal to Lisa her arteries and the beating sound of her heart. Which she ridiculously thought would sound like Lisa's name. Or Lili, instead of the usual tud-du tud-du.

"What are you thinking?" Lisa asked, her chin was comfortably perched atop Jennie's head. The scent of it was seeping through Lisa's nosetrils. Spring. That's where the spring scent was emitting from, Lisa realized.

"My arteries," Jennie replied, laughing and snuggled sheepishly on Lisa's warmth against the fabric of her thick knitted sweater. "What are you thinking?"

"That Leo and Luca would probably love the idea of having a second mommy," Lisa answered with a chuckle and pulled Jennie even closer and wrapped her arms around Jennie tighter.

They were standing in the middle of the kitchen and dining area. Luca was looking at them from the sink, with those handsome eyes of his. Leo, meanwhile, was lurking under the table, staring at Lisa and Jennie's feet. Both were wondering what will happen next.

"Only if it's me. They specifically like me," Jennie pointed out.

"Yes. But they like me first," Lisa said.

"But they like me more. Specially Leo," Jennie bickered with a smirk. She have already decided it.

She and Leo have that special connection going on between them. As for Luca--that handsome cat could make her fall on her knees with those feisty eyes of his. Luca already did. And she both loved the two furballs already.

"Oh god! Please stop rubbing it in," Lisa groaned and looked at Jennie. "It still stings, you know? I'm still jealous!" she said and then sought for Leo, which she found under the table.

"You and I need to talk later," Lisa said to Leo, who looked bored and unbothered. "Anyway, are you still hungry?" Lisa then asked Jennie.

"I'm famished," Jennie answered dramatically. "You?"

"Starving to death," Lisa responded with exaggeration. "Do you, maybe, like to head out so we could grab some actual food?"

Jennie nodded and said, "Yeah, that would be a good idea. I'm not overall confident with my stew, anyway."

"Who's fault is that?" Lisa asked with a smirk as she led Jennie towards the door. After Jennie was taking too much of her time giving cat treats and bidding goodbyes, more than Lisa did, with so much kissing, to Leo and Luca.

"Yours," Jennie answered as they stepped into the biting cold. "You didn't have enough groceries and you were distracting me."

Lisa laughed and said, "I was merely watching you cutting carrots and whatever."

"My point exactly," Jennie replied.

They were climbing down the brass staircase, Jennie leading, when Lisa halted her steps and asked.

"So, are we, like, a couple now or something?"

Jennie ceased from climbing down the steps and turned around to face Lisa. There was a funny look on her face, Lisa thought.

"Because you like me and I'm certain that I like you?" Jennie asked with a smirk.

"Kind of like that. It's usually how things like this work, I think. So, are we?" Lisa asked, sounding uncertain but somewhat hopeful.

"No," Jennie replied with a playful grin on her face and resumed her pace.

"What? Why?" Lisa asked in bewilderment and frustration. There was no way she could ever read Jennie's mind.

But Jennie only answered Lisa with a coy smile and walked towards Lisa's Impala.

"Let's use your car today," Jennie decided.

"What about your car?" Lisa asked.

"We'll just leave it right there," Jennie answered.

"Are you sure? I mean, that's a Porsche, right? Nobody leaves a Porsche in an open parking space."

"Lisa, it's just a car. Come on!" Jennie said, dragging the 'n' a little longer, as if she was begging. "I'm starving!"

"If something's going to happen to your car, don't blame me," Lisa said as she inserted the key to unlock the passenger's seat's door for Jennie.

"Nothing will happen to it," Jennie insisted and went happily inside Lisa's car.

"I'm just saying," Lisa said with a shrug after she settled herself behind the steering wheel. "So, where do you want to go?" she then asked Jennie after she secured their seatbelts and started the engine.

"Surprise me, Lili," Jennie replied coyly in the passenger's seat, inhaling the familiar scent of Lisa's car.

Lisa took Jennie to the neighboorhood of Nogosan-dong, in front of a building that looked somehow old and dilapidated from the outside, with red bricks on the exterior wall of the ground floor. Where a long line of people who were braving the frosty air and was waiting for something in front of the widely-opened wood-and-glass-panel blue sliding door.

"Are your knees strong enough?" Lisa asked Jennie after she parked her car.

"What do you mean?" Jennie asked curiously while unbuckling her seatbelt.

"You'll see. Come on. Let's get inside," Lisa said and they both stepped out from the Impala.

Jennie then snaked her arm around Lisa's arm. Something that she got used to doing whenever she and Lisa had to walk side by side together. The gesture sort of became natural to her. And Lisa didn't seem to mind.

Lisa led Jennie inside. They passed by the long line of people and the several oil drum-like containers with people eating around it, and waded through the somewhat thick barbeque-smelled smoke and then went straight towards the counter. Where an old man holding a walking cane was sitting comfortably behind an ancient-looking table. His withered face lit up when he saw the sight of Lisa.

"Oh hoh! Lalisa, naui haes-sal! What a surprise!" the old man said happily and stood up with the aid of his cane. A few of his staff were fussing over him, offering to assist him while he was walking towards Jennie and Lisa. But he only waved them off.

"Aigoo! Still stubborn as ever. How are you, ajusshi?" Lisa asked brightly and hugged the old man who, Jennie calculated, was already on his mid-80's, with his slick silver hair and an air of gratification on his age lines.

"I learned the stubbornness from you, you know that," the old man told Lisa. "But let me take a good look at you first," he added and adjusted his spectacles to take a good, assessing look at Lisa's laughing face. "You look more beautiful than the last time you were here," he concluded.

"Well, you still look like my own Marlon Brando, ajusshi," Lisa said with a smile.

"And you still know how to flatter an old man's heart," the ajusshi said, laughing. "So, what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting me today, Lalisa?" he asked.

He was obviously doting on Lisa, like how a grandfather would dote to his granddaughter, Jennie thought as she watched the exchanged of affection between Lisa and the old man.

"Well, my friend here said she's starving, so I brought her here in the Seoseo," Lisa replied and turned to Jennie, her hand landed on Jennie's waist. "Jennie, I'd like you to meet ajusshi Byung-ho. He's a good friend of mine and he owns this place," Lisa said, introducing the old man to Jennie, first. "Ajusshi, this is my friend, Jennie. This is her first time being here. Please treat her well."

"Good afternoon, ajusshi," Jennie greeted the old man with a bow. "Your place looks..."

"Unusual?" the old man provided with a friendly chuckle. "I get that a lot, especially from the first-timers. So, you're name is Jennie? Hmm. You look more beautiful when you're smiling, Jennie," the old man said with a gentle smile.

"What do you mean, ajusshi?" Lisa asked, beating Jennie by a mere fraction of a second from asking the same question.

"I often saw Jennie before," the ajusshi answered Lisa's question and then turned to Jennie. "I remember. Probably why you looked familiar to me. You were a regular at William's place, were you not?"

"Ah, yes, ajusshi," Jennie said, nodding. "I used to hang out a lot in The Era before. But, I don't remember seeing you there, though?"

"That's probably because you were busy looking out the windows or burying your self in a book," the old man said good-naturedly. "William and I are good friends."

"Oh. It's a pleasure meeting you, ajusshi. Mr. William is a friend of my father, too. But, you probably don't know him," Jennie said.

"I probably don't. But who knows? And the pleasure is all mine, Jennie," the old man said kindly. "By the way, I did not expect that you and this dæd right here are friends? What a small world we are living in."

"It's a long story, ajusshi. But I met Jennie at The Era, too," Lisa said.

"I see. Now we have another thing in common, Lalisa," the old man told Lisa meaningfully and then looked at Jennie. "I bet that our Lalisa right here is the reason behind that happy smile on your face?"

"Oh my god! You're embarrassing me ajusshi," Lisa protested, covering her face with her hands.

"Lisa makes me laugh often, ajusshi," Jennie answered and laughing at how Lisa's forehead turned red.

"She did, didn't she? Our Lalisa has always been a happy pill, of course," the old man said proudly while looking at Lisa affectionately. "So, one for the both of you?" he then asked.

Lisa laughed out loud as if they were sharing a joke that only her and the old man knew and shook her head.

"Oh, no! No, no, no. That would be too much, ajusshi. We'll just take it gradually first," Lisa said, to Jennie's confusion.

The old man then called one of his staff and signalled "one" by raising his forefinger on the air. And then led them to a vacant oil drum-like container with an already glowing embers of charcoal in the middle, under the steel bars for grilling.

"What? Isn't there, like, a set of menu to choose from?" Jennie asked.

"They've been serving one single menu for the last fifty years, Jennie. Just galbi. Tender meat marinated in special garlicky sauce, with spicy dipping sauce," Lisa told Jennie and pointed at the standing drum in front of them. "This is where we would grill our meat, which also serves as our table," she told Jennie.

"That's right. And ours is one of Korea's finest, according to CNN," the old man said proudly.

"The CNN people came here to eat? Wow! Seoseo is getting famous!" Lisa exclaimed.

"That explains the long line of people waiting outside for a vacant drum, then?" Jennie inquired. The chairwoman in her jumped out.

Jennie was never the business-type. And she was never really interested in running a conglomerate. But after her father died and left the chairmanship to her, sometimes she would surprise herself by asking random business-related questions to businessmen she would randomly met, who have built a legacy of their own. She should have paid enough attention to her father before, whenever the late Chairman Kim would talk to her about random business-related stuff. Maybe then she would have something to discuss with the ajusshi. Then she could learn a thing or two from him on how to build a legacy.

"The Seoseo is already an institution. Of course, people would stand in a line for our galbi jjim. One menu for fifty years and we're still here," the old man told Jennie as his staff came over and brought the tray of marinated meat and dipping sauce and laid it down above the drum container.

"But, how is that possible, ajusshi?" Jennie asked, looking stunned and confuse. "I'm sorry for asking. I'm just really curious."

"Sometimes, we only need to concentrate on one thing and nurture it with our loyalty, faith and love, and see where it will take us, Jennie. That's the secret," the old man said in riddle.

His face was beaming with pride and contentment. He knew he did something good in this world. Ajusshi Byung-ho reminded Jennie of his late father. Or what her father would have been had he lived a longer and more meaningful life.

"Anyway, I should get going. I have to visit my doctor today," the ajusshi said.

"Oh, why? Are you okay, ajusshi? Should I be worried?" Lisa startled.

"No, no, Lalisa. I'm fine. The wife just wants to make sure that I still get to live another decade," the old man answered, laughing. "So, Jennie, please feel at home. Will you? And eat a lot, my dear."

"I will, ajusshi. Thank you so much. Please take care," Jennie said with a courteous bow.

"Thank you," the old man beamed at Jennie and then gave a stern look at Lisa. "You owe me a story, young lady," he whispered to Lisa and flickered his beady eyes towards Jennie.

"I know, ajusshi," Lisa whispered back so thay Jennie couldn't hear her. "Take care, okay? Be nice with the doctors. I know you hate them," Lisa then said om her normal pitch.

"I hate how patronizing they are," the old man answered with a scoff. "Oh, how is my sweet Chaeyoung doing, by the way?"

"She's doing good, ajusshi. Still busy with the bar and her band," Lisa answered.

"Our Chaeyoung is working hard, isn't she? Good, good. Tell her I said hi, okay?" he said before he headed towards the door.

"I will, ajusshi. Have a good visit with the doctor," Lisa said and waved the old man goodbye. She and Jennie bowed towards the old man's direction before he disappeared into the humble street of Nogosan.

"He's so cool," Jennie said.

"Super cool. He's like a father to me," Lisa replied as she started to neatly spread the meat above the grilling bars.

The sound of the sizzling fats and the drips of marinade against the hot embers of the charcoals awed Jennie.

"He dotes on you. And this place looks cool, too," Jennie said and looked around through the thick smoke that filled the humble interior of the Seoseo Meokneun.

"Yes. But there'll be no chairs, though. And no rice," Lisa told Jennie.

"Which makes this whole experience cool," Jennie said and dipped the tip of her chopstick on the dipping sauce made of soy sauce and vinegar, with lots of chopped scallions, onions and pepper and then put in on her mouth. "Ah, deaebak!"

"Wait until you have your first bite of this," Lisa said as she flipped the tenderloins against the glowing embers. "I'm telling you, it's worth the standing."

"Can't wait," Jennie said, eyeing and salivating on the meat. "Do you come here often?"

"Used to. When I was still struggling with the studio and as a photographer. The ajusshi and I would talk for hours. He was extremely fascinated about Thailand but haven't had the chance to go there. So he would ask me anything and everything Thailand. But I haven't been here lately, though," Lisa said.

"That explains why he is fond of you, then," said Jennie.

"Plus he reminds me so much of my dad. They both share the passion and love for food."

"Oh. Does your mom and dad own a restaurant, too?" Jennie asked and took the tong from Lisa so she could do the flipping of the meats.

"They do. In Thailand."

The sizzling sound of the fats on the embers grew louder and more intensely, which produced thicker deliciously-smelled smoke.

"Do you miss them, Lili?" Jennie asked out of curiosity. Lisa haven't told her about her family, except when they were inside a macha once.

"A lot. They've always been supportive and granted me the freedom to pursue my dreams and do what I love," Lisa said.

"Have I ever told you how cool your parents are, Lili?"

"No. Just my mom. You said my mom is cool. Back in Dongpirang," Lisa replied, laughing.

"Well, I'm telling you now, Lili. You have cool parents," Jennie said.

"Thank you, Jennie," Lisa said, staring staright into Jennie's eyes. Hoping to show Jennie the amount of gratitude she has for her, which her words couldn't convey.

"You're welcome, Lili," Jennie beamed.

"So, you really don't remember seeing the ajusshi back then at The Era?" Lisa asked.

"No. I really wasn't paying that much attention to anyone or anything whenever I'm in there, to be honest," Jennie replied.

"But you noticed me that day, though," Lisa said.

"Only because you were taking pictures of me," Jennie pointed out.

"Liar. I saw you looking at me when I walked in," Lisa said with a smirk.

"I did not!" Jennie said in a dignified and haughty voice.

"Yes, you did. You were looking at how ridiculously out-of-place my hair was against the gloomy state of that place," Lisa insisted.

"So, you really did notice, huh?"

"Of course, I did. Because I was looking at you the whole time when you weren't looking," Lisa said as she took an already beautifully-charred meat away from the heat and cut it into bite sizes with a kitchen shears and placed them on Jennie's plate.

There it went again. Jennie's heart was in full thudding mode again. The butterflies on her belly were doing unbelievable acrobatic moves again. Lisa's words did that to her. It was crazy!

"So, uhm," Jennie started but couldn't get her head straight again. "So, why does ajusshi Byung-ho call you Lalisa, by the way?" she asked, instead of telling Lisa how much she noticed Lisa that day at The Era and how those soft, brown eyes haunted her on her sleep after that.

"Because that's my real name. Lalisa Manoban," Lisa answered. "And you're going to be my Nini from now on, by the way."

"Nini? Why Nini?" Jennie asked, laughing.

"Because you made me your Lili and it's already decided. We'd be Lili and Nini from now on," Lisa answered.

"Like Batman and Robin?"

"Or Tom and Jerry?"

"Oh, that fits," Jennie said. "Because you're a cat person and I'm a dog person, but I'm in love with Leo and Luca..."

"And me," Lisa interjected.

"And you...maybe," Jennie replied playfully and finally took her first bite of ajusshi Byung-ho's galbi.