Blind To Tears | jenlisa (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1

LISA

Seoul August 2022

I hate cinnamon rolls. In general, I hate anything that contains cinnamon. That's why I hate working with cinnamon. What I love are lemons. Be it lemon pasta, lemon cake or a slice of lemon in a coke. Sometimes I wish I could explain things to people I've known for years. Why I know from the start what I love and what I hate. Some call it intuition. Others think it has a psychological background. But for me it is neither. I've practiced it occasionally.

"Closing time!" Sana shouts happily. I give her a stern look. 

"Don't you love your work?" I ask mockingly accusatory. She calmly puts her arm over my shoulder and grins mischievously at me. 

"I do but! What I love most is the overtime with my extremely attractive boss." I slap her hand away with a grin. 

"Stop sliming." She laughs. 

I observe the Japanese beauty. Since I met her a few years ago, her hair has been dyed orange. She recolors it every time and insults its natural color. What she also insults is her natural curls. Every few months she slaps a keratin straightener on her hair and hopes that it will last longer this time. I blink at her. What a more enviable woman. Her brown eyes are as dark as ebony and her teeth are sparkling white. At 5'5 feet tall, she is shorter than me. Her nails are always painted the same color as her hair and outside of work, she loves to show off her fashion style. Sana is an aspiring designer. She loves to create, to sew and tailor. Her outspoken and loud personality always shines through in her looks and that is one of the reasons why I consider her as my closest friend.

"What about you? No date today?" I shake my head in resignation. 

"Tinder and Lovoo are anything but serious." I sigh and she giggles happily. "And you thought it was them?" She asks me incredulously. I blink at her, annoyed. 

"I'm just kidding!" She explains to me with a smile. I sigh again. 

"I know. It's just... I really thought I might find the right one." I murmur. Sana rubs my upper arms encouragingly up and down. 

"I know that and you will! When the time is right-" I cut her off in a flash. 

"I've been single for six years. I've been looking for someone for three years. How can the time not be right?" I ask desperately. The red-haired beauty also sighs sadly. 

"Maybe stop looking and wait until love finds you?" She suggests enthusiastically. I nod slowly. 

"You're right! I don't even know why I'm pressing the pity button here." 

"That doesn't bother me, that's what friends are for." She reminds me. I smile at her gratefully. I didn't tell Sana about my last date. I am ashamed.

"Your mother again?" She asks me afterwards. I sigh in stress. I put the dough in a bowl and cover it with a cloth. 

"Every time she talks about how she was already married and pregnant when she was my age... It's just... annoying." Sana blinks at me pitifully. 

"You are her only daughter. She just wants you to be happy." She replies neutrally. 

"Still, most of the time it feels like she wants to rub something under my nose. Her oh-so-great husband and she are sleeping in separate rooms. I'm not jealous of such a life." She nods understandingly. 

"Has she actually stopped with these arranged meetings?" I shake my head. 

"Every Saturday she wants me to visit her. Every time there is a new potential son-in-law." I say, rolling my eyes. Sana laughs.