K.H
The next morning went a little different than we expected. We still had the labs and team of researchers but Lisa was still stuck in her shared hotel room with Jungkook, reeling with a terrible hangover.
The morning was filled with Jungkook just sending me a flurry of text messages, asking me fore help because Lisa with a terrible hangover was still Lisa but possessed by some hangover demon.
Once everything settled down, the both of us head to the lab and really the car ride going there might have been the most awkward thing to ever happen to me in a while.
Jungkook gave a sheepish smile then said, "Ummm.....thank you for helping me with Lisa and all, I was having a mini breakdown because I wasn't sure how to deal with her."
I nodded then said, "Right of course, anyways, I hired a car service, the research team is waiting for us at the labs......let's go."
The car ride was eerily quiet. I mean, what else was there to be said.
Hey, I'm your sort of ex-girlfiend or past lover or something and we totally ended in a bad note but we can totally still talk right?
NO!
Ugh!
The lengths that I go just to have things my way. It doesn't help that my husband apparently just married me to get in on that high life of being filthy rich!
That a**hole!
And to think I poured my heart out to him?!
I bet he's happy that our son is about to die so that nothing bounds me to him anymore.
Eventually, we arrived at the laboratory and were met with the team of researchers.
I didn't spare a glance towards Jungkook, I went straight to the research, desperate to save the life of my son.
We spent hours at the laboratory, and those hours turned to the rest of the day and eventually till the wake of midnight.
Lisa had opted to arrive the next morning since she still had a massive headache. I couldn't stop working, it must've been the adrenaline rushing through me but I don't think the researchers could say the same.
Consequently, I told them they could go and rest and just come back the next day but I chose to stay. I couldn't seem to keep away from the work.
It must be the attachment issues.
I continued to type away on my laptop, already at my 22nd page on Chrome.
The letters on the screen seemed to meld into each other with how long I've been staring at the screen that my head began to spin.
I thought my head was about to crash onto my laptop's keyboard but instead it landed on something soft.
It landed on someone's palm.
I looked to see whose palm this belonged to and saw Jungkook with a concerned look on his face.
"You look terrible," he said as he carefully made me sit up on my chair.
"Hah, says the guy who still hasn't gotten a haircut all these years," I teased back and he chuckled then said, "I've always wanted to see how I would look like with a man bun."
Despite my tiredness, I took a hairtie from my pocket then carefully approached him. To my surprise, he didn't complain and he just let me touch his hair.
I carefully threaded my fingers through the strands of his hair then did my best to put his long hair into a man bun.
Once I was done with my work, I immediately went to see how he looks and I grinned.
Jungkook raised his brow in curiosity, "What? How do I look? You have to tell me, you're killing me with the suspense."
"You look good.....like a pretty little ballerina," I teased and he playfully shoved my shoulder then said, "You're ridiculous."
I was about to tease him some more but then my stomach grumbled out of nowhere earning a chuckle from him.
"Alright, you have to leave the work for a while, you can't work with an empty stomach Haewon," Jungkook pointed out and I wanted to protest but my stomach made an ungodly soundaking Jungkook break into laughter.
"I can't tell if it's your stomach or a dog growling at me," he said in between laughs. I rolled my eyes and he took it as a sign to stop laughing.
"Seriously, we need to get you some food," Jungkook said.
"And where exactly? The only place that I'm sure is open right now is the supermarket," I said and Jungkook shrugged then said, "I'm sure we can find something already ready-made at the supermarket."
"You know what, I'm not gonna argue with you because my stomach seems to be speaking for me," I confessed and he smirked then led the way.
I wasn't even sure where we were going because of how sleepy I was. I knew I was seconds away from just sleeping on the cold pavement but he seemed to notice that so he took my hand in his and said, "Don't fall asleep now on me Haewon, it'll be a pain to drag you back to the lab."
At that moment, I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of him doing so.
Eventually, my eyes were forced to open wide as the bright lights of the supermarket hit them.
"Sooooo, you've been in London longer than I have and we're not exactly going to find bulgogi here or seaweed wraps so maybe I'll let you take the pick for us," Jungkook suggested.
I shrugged then said, "I never cooked while I was here, Eunwoo always did the cooking if we didn't eat out so the best I can get you is a regular sandwich and maybe English Toffee Ice Cream.....and here I thought I was supposed to be the one getting fed."
"Nahhhh, I am pretty hungry cause I kind of refused to leave you and forgot to eat dinner since everyone was heading out of the lab and you'd be left here all alone," he confessed and I raised my brows in surprise.
"You didn't have to do that you know, you could've gone home to check on Lisa," I said and he nodded then said, "I did when the researchers were still around but you were too busy to notice that I left."
The two of us began walking through the grocery, gathering all the ingredients and the ice cream as he continued to explain.
"When I came back, they were all leaving but you were too absorbed in your work to notice so I stayed by your side instead of getting dinner," he explained and warmth rushed through my body.
I pursed my lips to conceal how I felt and proceeded to pay for what we got. We didn't talk much until we got to the lab.
It was probably because we were both eager to eat. The moment we arrived to the lab, I took out the groceries and started making sandwiches for both of us.
"I present to you, the Haewon Sandwich," I humoured and Jungkook chuckled then said, "Oh do tell, what is this Haewon Sandwich."
"Well we have pumpkin and sunflower seed bread slices, salami in the middle and japanese mayo then some lettuce," Haewon proudly said but Jungkook raised one of his brows then said, "That's a concerning combination, are you sure you're not trying to poison me, I think I'll have the ice cream we bought instead-"
Annoyed, Haewon glared at him which tentatively made Jungkook take a bite of the sandwich and to his surprise, it was really good.
He chuckled then said, "I rest my case, this sandwich is actually pretty good."
"See, you have to expect the unexpected when it comes to me," I humoured but Jungkook noticed there was a sad footnote to it.
"You know I've always wondered how you were able to do all of this, endure becoming CEO of Kyong Laboratories.....was it really your dream to become like this?," Jungkook asked sincerely and I put down my sandwich in the process.
"That was, a pretty invasive question, but I'll answer it because maybe it'll clear the air for both of us," I explained and he nodded to gesture me to go on.
"I used to have dreams when I was a kid," I story-telled, "I used to dream about being a ballerina or a super spy but you know I lost all of my dreams because of how much people have used me."
"My mother used me to get revenge on you and she went absolutely bonkers," I continued to say, "Then not too long ago I found out that my husband, Eunwoo, only loved me for the money and luxury he can get from being with me."
"Now, the one thing I have left that keeps me going is my son and if I don't find a cure for my son, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself," I said and I looked into his eyes to see sadness and longing.
My eyes filled with tears of regret as I looked at him and said, "Maybe if I followed my dreams, or dare I say, maybe if I followed my heart, I wouldn't be in this terrible point in my life."
"But I guess I was just a coward, a coward who couldn't even fight for what she loved or who she loved for that matter," I said and now my vision was blurred with the tears that flowed down from my eyes.
I wiped away my tears and saw how Jungkook looked at me with complete understanding.
We can never deny the tension between us but it is something that we would have to keep between ourselves, never speak of, and never take action on.
Jungkook shook his head in dismay then said, "But we can't change the past and I promise you, I'll help you in this.....I have to, I can't not help you Haewon....I care for you too much."
Before I could even respond to his words, the doors to the lab burst open revealing a frantic looking Lisa.
She looked at me and yelled, "What the hell?! Do you not answer your phone?! I've been ringing your cellphone for the past hour and you haven't answered any of my calls that I had to drag myself out of bed even if my head is still aching.....which for the record, I am never drinking again because it's been almost 24 hours and I'm still hungover!"
I stood up from my seat and took my phone out of my pocket, "Crap, I'm so sorry Lisa, I was so caught up in the research that I forgot to charge my phone, and it must have died in the process."
"What's so urgent anyways?," Jungkook asked and Lisa eyed him suspiciously then said, "What are you even doing here? The researchers have come back to the hotel to rest."
He hastily explained, "Haewon wouldn't stop researching so I thought she could use the company."
"But that's beside the point Lisa, what was so urgent that you dragged yourself here because Haewon wasn't answering your calls?," he asked.
Lisa gave me an enigmatic look and said, "We have to go back to Seoul."
"What? Why are we going back to Seoul, we aren't done with the researcg, in fact, we barely even started this research, we have a really long way to go Lisa," I said as I pointed at my laptop with so many tabs open.
"Haewon we have to," Lisa calmly explained, "Something went wrong with your son."
"What do you mean something went wrong," I asked, "Is Hajoon okay?"
"No, Haewon, the reason why I called you is that Jimin has been trying to contact you about Hajoon," she explained, "He says that you have to come back to Seoul so you can understand the full length of the matter."
"Haewon, we have to cancel the research," Lisa reasoned and I said, "No! We are not cancelling the research, I am not cancelling anything that will save my son-."
"HAEWON! Your son can no longer be saved and if you don't believe me then go to Seoul and see for yourself!," Lisa yelled as if to give me a wake-up call.