Elsewhere. | A Lizkook AU

16.

"But it's still, ultimately, a club," That's probably the only big thing that's stopping Lisa from fully trusting the guy. Well, generally she already have major trust issues but half on that list is already wiped away by the charmer without her even realizing it. Still, she can't help feeling that no one could ever be this perfect.

"My parents had the same thoughts when I told them that I wanted to open a night club. I think they had all these imaginations that their son will end up with heavy partying...drugs and alcohol - dramas with authorities or the mob. But it's actually much more basic and boring than you think," He paused to let the waiter place their food on the table.

"We have routined checks with authorities once every two weeks. Each one of my staff are tested, also once every two weeks. I paid auditors to come in every month to check on the stocks and account balance. Bags are to be checked upon entry so no drugs or anything resembling a weapon are allowed. The most drama that happened so far are just petty drunk fights or missing items. Someone passes out? We make the call. No one comes? We call the cops or an ambulance. That never happened but my point is, we have a standard operating procedure in place,"

"But has no one tried to...you know, get under the table for any dodgy business with you?" Blame it on all the movies and things she heard from back home. Night clubs and bars were known to be owned by some industrial and powerful tycoons. A whole street or town could be controlled by a single man - along with the people in it, and that's a scary thought.

"A few came earlier when it first opened...asking for 'protection money'. My cousin is with the police so I paid him instead,"

"You bribed your cousin??" The shock came in forced whispers.

Jungkook stopped cutting the meat on his plate and smirked. "Yes, Lisa. I bribed my cousin with free boozes once or twice a week for him and his team, just so I'd have cops around in my club to scare away the gangs," The unbothered laugh made him look like a badass even. "It's not the only thing I plan on doing for the rest of my life you know...it's just the first one,"  

Okay, he looks kinda... "Hot!" She pouts teasingly.

"Don't say that,"

"There seems to be a lot of things I can't do around you, Jungkook," 

"For now...yes, Lisa. Because timing is everything, right?"

Timing... It took a few seconds for her to understand what he meant and when she did, Lisa could feel the warmth rising to her cheeks. 

"What do you miss most about Thailand? Aside from your family," He might have moved on from the topic, but his gaze got her into thinking 'what if I don't care about timing or whatever the hell it meant?' for longer than she probably should. 

"Not much," She tried answering nonchalantly. There's actually a lot of things she missed about it...but those are the past... "Memories," She said, not realizing that her eyes had fallen into the nothingness on the table. 

"Of your ex?"

"Vaguely. More of just myself. Who I used to be...or at least, who I thought I would be. I didn't get a lot of chances to do what I wanted to, and sometimes I missed that feeling in those moments. It's quite unfortunate. My parents...they gave me the privilege of doing whatever I wanna do...I have phases where I wanted to try a lot of things but I ended up choosing wrongly,"

"Like what?"

"You know...silly things like...learning how to use a coffee machine. I used to pass by this cafe after school when I was fourteen. It's quite like a hip place to hang out during that time and I always see people lining up to get the coffee. The waiters were always cheerful and tight-knit...and one day I stopped by, just to try the coffee. I was too young for it but it tasted really good so I thought, maybe I could be a barista and make good coffee when I finish highschool. Stupid, I know - I should be more ambitious -"