EYES LOCKED, HANDS LOCKED

Sān shí sì

The small circle of her writing friends had told her that if a man who liked her had read her novels, they would definitely be scared off. There weren't many men who liked strong women, as they liked having the image of a strong man in the woman's eyes. They also liked women who were weak and beautiful since strong women would injure their frail self-esteem.

Jisoo didn't think that it would matter too much, but she had to agree that her friend's words were reasonable. Also, Seulgi who had originally said that she loved her, had ultimately gotten into an ambiguous relationship with another woman for the same reasons.

Then, what about Lisa?

After putting the book back into its original position on the shelf, Jisoo sat on the chair at the computer desk. She pondered over their relationship thoughtfully. So far, it had always been Lisa who took the initiative to approach her, while she passively accepted her attempts.

It was once said that when a man pursues a woman, the woman was treated as a treasure, but once she's been caught, then her negative traits would reveal themselves. Did Jisoo need to consider this aspect as well?

Just when her thoughts were going wild, Jisoo's phone started to ring. It was from Lisa.

"Have you gotten enough sleep?" Lisa's voice was very melodious to her ears. When it was lowered, it sounded like Lisa's words were filled with tenderness.

"Yep," Jisoo coughed dryly.

She felt like she had just contracted an illness that everyone frequently caught when they were in a relationship – the uneasy disease. She listened to the addictive voice coming from her phone. As expected, she was already one foot deep into the love pond.

"The meeting today lasted longer than expected. I can probably only pick you up at around 1pm. There are some fruits and snacks in the fridge; you can eat them if you're hungry."

On the other end of the call, Lisa was signing a document with one hand while smiling lightly as she listened to Jisoo's voice on the phone.

"No problem, if you are busy, I can go out by myself to get something to eat for lunch." Jisoo turned 180° on the chair and faced the computer. She spoke as she switched the computer on, "Don't delay your work."

"It's alright. I don't have much to do in the late afternoon. Later, I'll give you a call when I have arrived."

"Okay." Since the other party decided to ignore her suggestion, she did not insist on it any longer. "I'll hang up now. Don't be absent-minded while working."

"Ok, I'll listen to you."

When Jisoo heard Lisa's low laugh, she immediately hung up. That sound was just cheating her feelings and what was with 'I'll listen to you'? Lisa, that scoundrel, was actually trying to take liberties with her!

Listening to the dial tone from her phone, Lisa's mood was great as she put the phone back into her drawer. She was thinking about how to bring Jisoo to meet her parents this weekend. Her parents seemed to have a good impression of Jisoo and recently, whenever she called them, Jisoo was always mentioned in their conversation, intentionally or not.

Meeting her parents was a good thing. But now, she should focus on work to earn more money so that her future wife could live a better life. That was the most important thing at the moment.

While Lisa was filled with motivation, Jisoo leisurely signed into a social network platform. She chatted happily with her friends about delicious food, makeup, publishing new books, and dragging out their deadlines and so on.