The Rice Pot Next Door | LISKOOK

SPECIAL CHAPTER 4

Unfortunately, she is too short so Namjoon leans over helpfully until his ear is close enough to her mouth to hear her whisper. “Boss Kim are you having your period?”

Instead of answering, Namjoon signals for the waiter. “Please bring us a bottle of your most expensive wine.”

If Rosé’s arsenal is a smart mouth, then Namjoon’s arsenal is full of deadly weapons. Rosé mentally computes the damage of the wine, but luckily, the waiter only brings out a bottle of locally brewed Maotai so she figures that the damage is not too extensive. As all need to work later, Namjoon is the only one who drinks – and a small glass at that – leaving the bottle more than half-full at the end of the meal. Thinking that she has already paid for it, Rosé decides to take the wine back when she settles the bill.

Since her boss has joined her lunch treat without so much as a by-your-leave, she figures she should also not stand on ceremony with him and share his private lift back at their office. Namjoon did not chase her away while they wait for the lift and once they are inside, he points to the Maotai she is hugging to her chest. “Do you like to drink?”

When she shakes her head, he continues."Then why are you holding on to it? Do you intend to use it to water plants?”

“I plan to bring it home for my dad.”

He sticks out his hand."Give it to me.”

Rosé hugs the bottle even tighter."No!”

“Look, you cannot give this to your father.”

“Why not?”

To Namjoon, he has drank from the bottle and he finds it weird to share the remaining with strangers, much less her family. Furthermore, how can she give her father leftover wine after a junior has drank from it? It is just not respectful so he reaches out and plucks the wine away from her. Rosé is no match for him in terms of size and strength and can only stare daggers at him when she lost the contest.

ಠ ೧ ಠ⟵Rosé

Amused at her fuming face, Namjoon reaches out a hand to muss up her hair. “Bee a good girl and let me have the wine. I will give your father a box of wine in return, how about that?”

“Define how soon “in return” is going to be.”

“Today.”

“You must be pulling my leg.”

Namjoon explains patiently. “I am not pulling your leg. I have lots of wine at home and I will get my assistant to bring me a box later.”

“You are not thinking to give me fake Maotai right? My dad loves it so much he can tell the difference.”

“A CEO like me can have fake Maotai?”

“Yes, a CEO like you who have no qualms about barging into my lunch treat.”

“So what if I join you for lunch? I am your boss. You should be honored when I choose to lunch with you.”

This despicable man! Rosé mentally bashes herself to have a crush on such a scum. If she can, she wishes she can change another pair of eyes.

When they are back to office, Namjoon calls his assistant to pick up a box of Maotai and messages Rosé: Come to my office when you knock off today.

Mimicking him, she replies with a cool: ?

Namjoon did not bother to reply her and after a while, she cools down. All right, so it is not just about acting cool. To be able to pull it off, one must first attain certain stature. Now that she is back to normal and that it is time to knock off, her thoughts move to how to best poke at him, take advantage of him, find opportunity to coop a feel at his flesh…. Still thinking, she knocks and sticks her head into his office.“Boss Kim?”

Looking up, Namjoon sees her little doggy head and thinks that he can get used to having a doggy around especially when he can pats its fur. Keeping his work, he picks up his car keys.“Let’s go.”

When he is nearly at the door, Rosé  cranes her neck to look up at him.“Boss Kim, why did you ask me to look for you?”

“You have forgotten? If so, take it as I have not said anything.”

“No, no, no.” She pulls at a corner of his sleeve to stop him and he stares at her hand pointedly. She lets go immediately and peers into his office. “Boss Kim, where have you hidden the stuff?”

“You can stop looking. Do you think I am as dumb as you? I have asked my assistant to leave it in my car.”

Rosé trails happily behind him as he walks towards the lift. “Are you thinking of sending me home?”

<(￣︶￣)>

“What do you think?”

She stops in her tracks, causing him to look back at her. She takes a deep breath and gathers her courage. “Boss Kim, are you interested in me?”

“Me? Interested in you?” As if hearing a big joke, he scrutinized her from head to toe. “With looks like yours, you think you can attract my attention? I think you will need to grow an extra pair of wings before you can succeed.”

Hurt by his bluntness, Rosé feels a little chilled and turns away. “Fine. Actually, you are only average too. What makes you think that I will be interested?”

Namjoon walks purposefully towards her until he is very near to her and she backs a step.

Looking at her, he takes another step forward and she moves back yet another step.

Another step, and another step, until her back hits the wall and he is in front of her. He is like a cloud and she tense up under his shadow as she watches him nervously. If only she can turn into a piece of paper so that she can plaster herself to the wall! He lifts a hand so that it touches the wall above her ear and lifts her chin with the other hand when she lowers her head to avoid looking at him.

Forced to look up, she takes in his clear features, his serious eyes, and the reflection of her nervous self in those eyes. He is so far removed from her universe, yet so near. So close until she can nearly count his eyelashes. Suddenly, she slips into a blur, unable to tell what is real and what is not.

He leans down and for a moment, it looks as if his lips may be touching hers. Her heart soars suddenly as she thinks to herself, he is going to kiss me he is going to kiss me he is going to kiss me….

He pause to gaze deeply into her eyes as he says in his deep baritone. “Tell the truth, am I handsome?”

She replies without thinking. “Very.”

He laughs, the sound like wine, with a hint of glee. He straightens and pinches her cheek. “And you dare pitch yourself against me? Ha-ha-ha!”

***

Mean while Lisa is getting fat from all the good food and decides to go on a diet. Jungkook advises her against using conventional but potentially harmful weight-loss methods and they finally settled on her taking some 100% herbal, totally no-side-effect tablets before meals, that are supposed to help reduce absorption of food. Still, Jungkook  is worried and swapped her tablets with similar-looking multivitamins and gets an unexpected side bonus when the vitamins make her more energetic, which is ideal for night time activities. Oh happiness…

ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ⟵ JK

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