a little bit of black with a little bit of pink

On Your Ground, part 3

It was a few weeks later when Lisa saw Jennie next. She had just left her shift at the bookstore and saw Jennie and an older man walking down the block.

Almost like a reflex, her heart started racing, her palms got clammy, and she felt her lips turn up into a smile. Despite having her heart broken by the woman, she still missed her. The contradiction was pathetic.

She tried not to stare, but couldn't help it. Her memory had not failed her. She was certain that fixating on Jennie for the last several weeks had affected her memory. Jennie couldn't possibly be that beautiful, her hair couldn't possibly look that soft, her smile couldn't possibly shine that brightly. But no, her memory was accurate. If anything, it didn't do Jennie justice.

It hurt.

It was no surprise when Jennie finally spotted her. Lisa made no effort to look away; the way Jennie's face lit up when their eyes met made her forget the embarrassing, harsh words Jennie told her when they were last together for a moment. It made her forget how helpless she felt, falling for someone who didn't care about her.

What was a surprise was when Jennie pointed her out to the man she was with. They both approached. He shared Jennie's happy (huge) smile.

"Hi Lisa," Jennie said, a little cautiously but still with enthusiasm.

"Hey Dr. Kim."

"Jennie. Call me Jennie. I'm not your doctor anymore," Jennie said, matter-of-factly. Her smile was small – restrained – but it was still there.

Lisa gulped. Was she even a doctor at all? Why wasn't she at the clinic? She didn't look unemployed (Lisa scoffed at herself, how the fuck did anyone look like they weren't a doctor anymore?), but she was still very reserved. She couldn't read her.

Before Lisa could ask anything, the man with Jennie cleared his throat, taking their attention. She forgot he was even there.

"Oh, dad!" Jennie said, also startled. "This is my father, Ron Kim. Dad, Lisa was a patient of mine."

"Hello Lisa! It's very nice to meet you!"

Lisa blushed under Jennie's dad's gaze, feeling like a teenager again. "It's nice meeting you too, sir."

"She was probably one of my favourite patients," Jennie offered, beaming a little. "I miss seeing her around. How have you been, Lisa?"

"I've been okay," Lisa said, almost matching Jennie's smile. Jennie had that affect on her – it was easy to be happy around Jennie. "My leg's doing alright."

"Oh good." There was something definitely different about Jennie; Lisa couldn't put her finger on it. She seemed less... stressed. Lisa figured it was because they hadn't seen each other in a while.

Lisa brought anxiety and destruction everywhere she went, as her mother often told her. As Jennie discovered, first hand.

"So were you lucky enough to have Jennie operate on you at the hospital, or are you from the clinic?" Jennie's dad asked, pulling Lisa from her thoughts.

"Both, actually," Lisa answered.

"I operated on Lisa in February while covering the mat leave and she was at the clinic," Jennie explained.

"Oh! So Lisa was your patient before you started your residency?" he asked Jennie.

Her residency?

"Wait, what?"

"Yes! Jennie here is a resident at Seoul General. She just started a few weeks ago. I've been told that she's an excellent surgeon," he started, wrapping a proud arm around Jennie, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You're a lucky young lady to have had Jennie as your doctor. I bet your leg is as good as new!"