The Rice Pot Next Door | LISKOOK

CHAPTER 42: JK's Heart Filled Pack Lunch

Jungkook: I have an idea, but I need to keep it secret.

Dad: Do tell us. Do not worry that we will reveal anything because I will swear to heaven that we will not!

Namjoon: Yes, yes, yes!

Mom: Correct, correct, correct!

Jungkook: Keeping a secret secret is a matter of principle and there is absolutely no reason for me to break a principle simply because someone chooses to swear to heaven. Otherwise, how can a secret be called a secret?

That night, his family members feel like mice who are being toyed by a cat. The rascal is probably stringing them along on purpose but such perhaps,is the price for nosing around in hopes of some entertainment.

The next morning, Jungkook  wakes up Lisa per their new routine. In the past, Lisa will wake up when her alarm rings and do a quick wash before dashing off to work. Breakfast will be something she grabs along the way. When Jungkook  noticed this dumb and unhealthy lifestyle of hers, he has decided to help her correct her bad habit.

Which is why Jungkook  will knock at her door punctually every morning way before her usual wake-up time. She has tried to turn down his morning-call initially but he has ignored her protests and dangles his bait – he can share his breakfast with her.

Which is why Lisa has tolerated his nuisance and has slowly adjusted to the new routine so that she can pop over next door for a proper breakfast before going to work.

Today’s breakfast consists of Steamed Bun Dumplings, hard-boil eggs cooked in tea & herbs, and soya milk. The bun and eggs are bought from the food stall downstairs while the soya milk is made by Jungkook  who grounds his own beans and cooks them with a dash of sugar. It is very thick, very fragrant, and blends perfectly with the other food. While she is eating, she notes that Jungkook seems to be busy with something in the kitchen but since she is still sleepy, she did not try to check on what he is doing.

After a while, Jungkook  emerges with a plastic lunch box.From the transparent cover, Lisa can see that there are some sauté French beans and tomatoes on top a layer of rice. This sparks her curiosity. “Are you going out today? Where are you going that does not sell food and that you have to make your own lunch?”

“This is for you, not for me.” He places the lunch box in front of her. “Go on, take it and eat it for lunch. I have already sterilized it so that you can consume it without worrying for contamination.”

Lisa takes the warm container and is touched. he lunch box is still warm and the vapour droplets under the lid proves that the food is only prepared just this morning. Did he make it especially for her? “Why are you being so good to me?”

He choose to answer with another question. “Is there a reason why I cannot be nice to you?”

“None whatsoever. Just make sure you don’t stop.”

Lisa tucks her lunch box away carefully and goes off happily to work. During lunchtime, she follows her colleagues to the staff canteen and heats up her lunch box with the microwave oven there. After the food is warmed up, she mixes the vegetables with the rice – and discovers a piece of luncheon meat sandwiched between the rice.

A small, heart-shaped luncheon meat about the size of a cherry.

While she is trying to digest the sight, her colleagues have spotted the heart too and crowds around her as they start oohing and arhhing.

“Yo Unnie, who cooked this loving lunch? Look, such a cute little heart, can you see it beating?”

“Oohhh Dongsaeng, you are really too low secretive. How can you keep us in the dark when you have a boyfriend? You should have said something so that those guys who have waited so long for you can finally squash their hopes.”

“Unnie, I think you should just marry this guy.”

“Lisa, Lisa! Who is the guy who made this lunch must be better looking than our boss?”

“Unnie, your lunch smells heavenly….”

Sales people are a talkative bunch but fortunately, Lisa is no pushover. Although her face is red from embarrassment, she manages to shield her lunch box from her inquisitive colleagues good naturedly. “Shoo, shoo, go away. What is there to fuss about?”

She quickly eats the luncheon meat but discovers that there are several more hidden in her lunch. The meat is actually lined beneath the rice and had she been more alert this morning, she would have spotted them through the base of the lunch box, unlike now when she can only wonder about the meaning of all this as she eats her rice.

Is he trying to tell her that he likes her?

Just the thought of it makes her feel excited, as if champagne is running through her bloodstream and is popping happy bubbles of joy. She cannot keep the happy gleam from her eyes and because she knows that people are looking at her, she tries to finish her lunch quickly while keeping a poker face.

It isn’t long before sanity returns. Had it been any other person, she would have been sure that she has just received a declaration of love. But this is Jungkook, the one and only Jungkook  who operates differently from the ends of his hair to the tip of his fingernails. Who knows if he made these due to a sudden attack of womanly whims?

And the probability of that happening is not low!

Needing to discuss this with somebody, Lisa decides to meet up with Rosé after work instead of going home. When she sees Rosé, she starts to tell her take when the latter asked about her Hongdae trip “What am I going to do? I think Jungkook is interested in me!”

“You have suddenly grown smarter?”

“No, of course.”

“Thank goodness! You gave me a fright.”

“Hey!”

Rosé pats her shoulder gently. “Dear sister, I know the feeling. When you like someone desperately, you will hope and hope and hope that he likes you back. Then your mind will go off-tangent and cause you have lost your usual judgment.”

“Is that so? But his actions are really highly suspect!” Lisa tells Rosé about Jungkooks appearance at Seokchon Lake and his heart-filled pack lunch his morning. Rosé rubs her chin and muses. “Well, when you are trying to convince yourself of something, your mind will usually skew towards a certain conclusion, won’t it? The meeting in Hongdae may be a coincidence but I agree with you that the same cannot be said of the pack lunch. But then again, I’m only a mere mortal. How would I know how to interpret the working of a god’s mind?”

Lisa hangs her head and tugs at her friend’s shirt. “Help me think of a solution. Use your 10-year secret crush experience to help me think of a solution!”

“Ok. Hmm….. spirits in heaven, spirits on earth… oh! I think I know what you can do!”

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