Lisa

Hearing Lisa's confession, Ryan's mind went blank. He didn't know what he expected but it could be actually figured out from the way she looked at him. He could be indeed called handsome but Ryan never thought of using his looks to flirt with girls. He always wanted to be liked by what's inside him instead.

Lisa pulled away from him right after her words and winked at him. "I only learned about you from my friend. When I saw your picture, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I guess you are exactly my type," Lisa continued speaking honestly, her smile brightening the more she spoke.

Ryan wanted to respond to her but in the end, couldn't find words to describe how he felt. Three beautiful girls appeared in his life in the span of just a few hours, turning his life upside down.

It wasn't him. He didn't break up with women on a whim just because another beauty is interested in him. This was not how relationships worked. He already committed himself to become a perfect boyfriend for Rose and his mind was set in stone. If he just changed his mind it would mean he was never sincere towards Rose.

As Ryan was momentarily lost in thought, staring at her with an empty look, Lisa added, "We only have a little amount of time to get to know each other so I'm telling it to you right away to save both of us time. Seeing how you are, I'm sure I will fall for you soon. I know myself well. I hope you will consider my feelings if that happens."

"Thank you for your kind words," Ryan finally spoke, deciding to reply with similar honesty. "Feeling your sincerity, I won't lie to you. I do find you similarly attractive yet there is already someone else that was first to steal me away. The two of us could be considered a couple already. It would be selfish of me to simply forget about her."

He didn't mention that his life would also be in danger in such a case.

Lisa's hand was already reaching out to the classroom door's handle when he spoke but she froze mid-air, stopping herself. It happened only for a second as she already partially knew about it.

Lisa didn't get upset but rather valued his honesty and replied, "It's alright. I don't ask you to leave anyone for me now. Just don't reject me before you get to know me better. You won't forbid me from liking you?"

She gave him this cute, puppy look while covering her mouth with her fists to which Ryan was too weak to resist. "Of course I won't do that…" Ryan confirmed, a bit guilty for rejecting her. "I just wanted to be honest with you. You deserve someone who will give you one hundred percent attention. I can't do that."

Just then, the two heard the sound of the footsteps from the distance and both looked at the nearby stairs. They were on the University so it was lucky they had even a moment of peace to talk.

"Let's continue this conversation after the class. I don't want to leave it at that," Lisa proposed, knowing they wouldn't be able to continue talking in such a place. She didn't give him a chance to disagree though as she opened the doors for them.

Compared to Jennie, she was much gentler and didn't push herself on him. It was better for him to resolve it in peace.

Lisa entered the class first and apologized right away, "I'm really sorry it took so long. We can go back to class now."

Ryan thought she would try to think of some excuse but it seems she was already a real teacher, without the need to explain herself. Many boys kept glaring at him, curious what the two were doing but he didn't feel the need to explain himself either.

"Ryan, will you help with my presentation?" Lisa asked casually as she began pulling some materials for the class. "I forgot my remote so I will have to ask you to manually skip slides."

"Sure, no problem," Ryan replied and sat down on the teacher spot, watching as she passed down papers to everyone.

He didn't want to mess in her laptop without her so instead, he pulled his phone and sent the last message to Rose.

'Sure, I will be there at two. My class is starting so I won't be able to message. I will call you when I'm done with everything.'

———

"As I'm a businesswoman, I will be talking about leading a business. Is there anyone who would like to start their own business?"

When Lisa finally started the class, Ryan was genuinely surprised by how well she was prepared. Usually, when he listened to this class, he would be bored to death but Lisa's way of speaking was actually interesting. The way she interacted with the class was also impressive, pulling in to conversation even the quietest people.

He didn't know if that was her cheerful attitude or her soothing voice but he managed to stay hooked for the whole three hours. He wasn't surprised that Lisa actually began using a fashion company as the main example during her lecture. He could feel that she had a deep knowledge of the subject as he learned a lot from her.

It could even be said the class was tailored for him as it was exactly what he needed.

"She will be successful no matter where she goes…" Ryan thought as the class was about to end, having a really positive opinion about her. It wasn't an accident that Lisa got successful in business.

"And that's all for today. I think we ran out of time. Thank you for joining me today everyone," Lisa announced as she checked her watch and bowed to the class.

Many boys whined for the first time, wishing the lecture was longer but unfortunately, Lisa had more important matters to handle.

"Ryan, would you mind helping me carry my stuff?" Lisa asked casually as she began packing and Ryan didn't mind, nodding. "Sure. It's dark so it's best if I can accompany you to your car. It will be safer."

The boys rolled their eyes, thinking that Ryan was trying to flirt with Lisa yet to their surprise, she gladly accepted, "Aww, you are sweet. I will take you on that offer then."

When everyone was leaving the class, they couldn't help but glare at Ryan but he didn't care. He would be hated by everyone from the moment he was called to the front by Lisa anyway. Only when the class got emptied from the rest of the students did Lisa ask him gently, "Did you enjoy my lecture?"

"I did. You showed us the insides of what it means to lead a business. I actually learned a lot so I have to thank you," Ryan replied honestly. "I never met anyone so passionate about business. It explains why you are successful."

"Sigh," Lisa took a deep breath. "Even if I'm successful in business, I'm still yet to find my prince. What's the point of having money if you can't share it with someone you love? I would rather be poor and have a good guy I can depend on. You can always earn money but you cannot buy love."

Lisa looked out of the window as she spoke before turning to Ryan. "What do you think?" She asked curiously, picking up her laptop backpack. "Would you trade everything you have for one person that truly loves you?"

"I would." It was an easy answer for Ryan. "Though, it's not like I have a lot right now so I wouldn't lose much."

"Well, you might have a lot more in the near future," Lisa commented quietly and tugged on his hoodie. "Come, you promised to accompany me to the car. We can talk on the way."

"Alright."

There was a lot of noise in the university so they only managed to find peace when they walked into the private parking for the teachers. Students with their cars had to park on the public parking in front of the university yet this one was located at the back, being small but safer.

"I would still do it," Ryan suddenly said as their surroundings got quiet. "I would give up any amount of money for the woman who can understand and love me the way I am."

Lisa smiled softly and untied her golden hair, letting it wave along with the wind. "I knew you would say that. You are similar to me," Lisa muttered as she fixed a strand of hair behind her ear and stopped in front of a clean red Dodge Challenger. "Does your girlfriend understand you well then?"

"Mhmm, I think she does," Ryan replied with a smile, recalling Rose's reaction to his urges and assured Lisa, "Don't worry, you will eventually find someone too. I bet you have a lot of admirers."

Click.

Lisa opened the door to the driver seat and placed her laptop on the passenger seat before pulling out her phone. "Can you give me your number? I want to stay in touch," Lisa asked as she passed her phone to him, not commenting on his theory.

"Oh, sure," Ryan didn't mind at all, thinking she would be a nice contact to have. Even if not like a couple, he could see himself becoming friends with her.

He looked down to type in his phone number only to see Lisa lean over to him with the corner of his eye. Before he could react, he felt something soft on his cheek and as he lifted himself, Lisa was already retreating.

"Thank you for the help today," Lisa said sincerely and looked down on her phone, "Are you done?"

"..." Ryan wanted to comment on that action of hers but he refrained himself, knowing it was only a kiss on the cheek. "Yes, here you go."

He passed her the phone and she immediately created a profile for him before keeping the phone happily. She entered into her car and demanded sweetly, "When I call you, I want you to pick up, okay?"

She didn't wait for his answer and instead closed the doors as she waved her phone to him. In the next second, he heard ringing and saw an unknown number calling him.

Ryan naturally accepted the call, not knowing what she planned to do and heard her soft voice call out, "I hope we meet again."

Beep, beep.

The call ended as soon as she spoke and the powerful Dodge Challenger bellowed upon ignition.

Vroooom!

She mouthed something to him without opening the window but he didn't understand much just from her lips. She didn't mind though and only smiled before driving away.

He watched as she drove away, contemplating Lisa under the light of parking lanterns. He couldn't find anything he disliked about her. Being honest with himself, he knew that he could see himself falling for Lisa if he never met Rose.

Ryan imagined both while sitting down on the edge of the pavement and decided to contact one of his recent calls. No one was picking up for a moment until he finally heard a gentle female voice on the other side.

"Hey Ryan~ Did you finish your classes already?"

Hearing Rose's voice really helped him calm down the troubling thoughts in his mind.

"Mhmm, I did. I'm on my way to the dorm," Ryan replied calmly and added, "I'm really happy to hear your voice. I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"Huh?" Rose didn't know about his troubles so she questioned his behavior right away, "Why are you acting sweet all of a sudden? Did something happen?"

As the situation was stabilized, Ryan didn't mention Jennie or Lisa. He didn't want to ruin her evening. "Everything is good. Now that I heard your voice, I feel like I can fight back anything," Ryan teased.

"Tch, smooth talker. If you are going to flirt, I'm ending the call. I have some more revision to do," Rose replied back to which Ryan quickly countered, pleading, "No, wait. I want to talk with you more. Please…"

Rose waited a moment as punishment before finally agreeing as if it was her plan all along.

"Fine… Tell me about your lecture. Anything interesting happened?"

____

Author notes:

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