Bitter & Sweet

Prologue

If there was one thing Lisa Manoban was good at, it was minding her own business.
Well… that, and tripping over absolutely nothing.

Every morning, she dragged herself from the café—hair messy, uniform smelling like espresso, and brain functioning at approximately 12%. She blended into hallways like background furniture. Nobody noticed her. She liked it that way.

But the universe?
The universe said, “Nah, let’s spice things up.”

It happened on a Monday, the kind of Monday that already felt like a personal attack. Lisa was speed-walking to class, holding her cup of coffee like it was the only thing keeping her alive. Her eyes were half-closed, her headphones tangled, her bag slipping off her shoulder…

And then she bumped into a wall.

Except it wasn’t a wall.
It was Jennie Kim—the Jennie Kim—school royalty, face of perfection, the girl whose uniform probably cost more than Lisa’s entire monthly allowance.

Before Lisa could react, physics betrayed her.
The coffee flew.
Jennie gasped.
Lisa died inside.

The entire hallway gasped like they were watching a live season finale.

Jennie stared at her ruined blouse, then at Lisa, then at the cup like it personally offended her whole bloodline.

Lisa panicked. “I—I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—It was the coffee, not me—I mean, it was me but—oh my god please just strike me with lightning—”

Jennie blinked. Slowly. Dramatically. Like she was calculating whether to scream, cry, or sue.

And Lisa?
She was thinking about running into the nearest trash bin and living there forever.

Little did she know, this embarrassing, extremely tragic, very comedic moment was the start of everything—
A chain of awkward encounters, accidental heart-flutters, and feelings that were definitely not in her schedule.

Sometimes love doesn’t knock politely.
Sometimes it spills hot coffee on the most popular girl in school.

And sometimes… that’s how the sweetest stories begin.