IT WAS Jungkook's second day after leaving the mansion. He sat up on his bed and stared at the quiet room he rented.
He noticed a red box on top of the bedside table.
"Eli." He muttered.
He stood up from the bed, went straight to the bathroom and washed his face.
It took him a while leave the room as he put on his aviator jacket. He stopped by a nearby bakery and bought two pieces of knead bread for breakfast. He also stopped at a coffee shop, taking out a tumblr of his black coffee.
The morning stroll on the town went just like that, receiving everything he had on his hands for free. The citizens of Jeju already knew he was working with Lisa and continuously gives him free services.
"This is getting annoying." Jungkook scratched the back of his head as soon as a kid approched him and gave him money.
Jungkook threw the money, the bread, and the coffee. He stomped his way back to his rental place and rode the motorcycle he rented yesterday.
He smeared the motorcycle and turned to the left side of the road, which is the way back to Lisa Manoban's residential house.
He arrived after a few minutes. The watch dogs infront of the gate opened and cleaned the pathway for him.
Just as he step foot inside the mansion, he immediately saw Lisa holding Chloe in her arms while playing with her big dogs.
Jungkook only stood there and watched the two.
"Say Lisa. Say it." Lisa started teasing the little one.
"Ah Taaah..." The baby spoke.
Lisa eyes widened, "Oh my God. Are you trying to say your dad's name?? It's Taehyung. Te-ih-hyong."
"Ta..."
Lisa tightened her embrace, "Gosh, you are so adorable."
The guy watching the two of them from few steps away, couldn't help but smile.
"You're both adorable."
Lisa jolted on her spot when she heard a voice behind her.
"J-Jungkook. When did you..." She stuttered.
Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe 5 minutes ago."
Lisa nodded, "Right. Do you want a drink? Tea? Juice? Coffee or—"
"Oh please. Not you too." Jungkook chuckled.
Lisa furrowed her brows, "What?"
Jungkook sighed, "It hasn't even been 3 days but I sure found out a lot about you in this town."
"I hope they're not exaggerating." Lisa smiled.
"Maybe." Jungkook pocketed his hands in his jacket.
Silence. Complete awkward silence filled the atmosphere between the two of them.
"Ja... Ja-ja!" Chloe suddenly spoke, stretching out her tiny hands to reach Jungkook.
"Looks like you missed Uncle Jungkook, huh? Princess?" Lisa handed Chloe to Jungkook.
But Jungkook hesitated for a mere second before finally having Chloe in his arms.
"Oh, you should hold her nape. Like this." Lisa held Jungkook's hands, guiding them for Chloe.
Jungkook gulped. Ever since he woke up from the hospital, he never really carried Chloe in his arms.
Lisa noticed how Jungkook's anxiousness, "You're doing great."
Jungkook looked up and met Lisa's reassuring smile.
He smiled back, "You seem good with kids."
"Well, I practiced a lot." Lisa shrugged her shoulders.
Jungkook furrowed his brows, wondering what she meant about 'practice'.
"By the way, where's Taehyung hyung and noona?" He asked.
"They went to buy groceries. You know, parents are always better at groceries." Lisa said, making Jungkook smile.
"You never really carried Chloe before, right?" Lisa asked, shaking the bottle of milk for Chloe.
Jungkook sighed, "I'm not too confident with my skills as a parent. I'm just a bit scared of the possibilities like dropping Chloe or hurting her."
"I remember someone saying the same thing." Lisa chuckled.
Jungkook looked at her, "What do you mean?"
"Well, my late husband and I were expecting a child. And he said the same thing after showing him a positive PT." Lisa smiled.
Jungkook's eyes widened. He almost asked what happened to her child, realizing that Lisa lived alone her entire life which answers the question.
"I'm so sorry." Jungkook lowered his head.
"Why are you apologizing? Good memories should stay good. If you keep apologizing, that good memory will become a sad one." Lisa said, leaning closer and bottle-feed Chloe in Jungkook's arms.
"Yummy." Lisa muttered, encouraging Chloe to start consuming the milk.
Lisa haven't notice but her face is few inches away from Jungkook's, making the guy look away.
For a brief second, he forgot there was a maid looking at them right by the kitchen.
"If Eli was still here, you'd probably do great like how you are with Chloe right now, Jungkook." Lisa said, looking straight into Jungkook's eyes.
Jungkook furrowed his brows, feeling a light pang on his chest.
"Ahjumma? Chloe's sleeping. Can you please tuck her upstairs?" Lisa instructed the maid.
The maid nodded, pulling Chloe from Jungkook and leaving the two of them behind to put Chloe in bed.
After hearing the maid closing the door upstairs, the two of them went to the garden.
Lisa faced Jungkook, "So what did you came here for? Probably not to babysit, right?"
She joked, trying to lighten up the mood between them. Lisa still thinks, Jungkook is upset at her.
"No." Jungkook shortly answered.
Lisa furrowed her brows and stayed quiet, waiting for Jungkook to speak.
"I visited Eli the other day..." He started.
Lisa pursed her lips, slightly guilty for witnessing Jungkook that day.
"And I realized, I've been doing the exact opposite of what she wanted me to do." He continued.
"First, I want to apologize to you for leaving without explanation and apologize for everything I said ever since I moved here. I'm sorry for blaming you for what happened to Eli. Second, I want to do everything properly from now on and I want to this on my own." Jungkook said.
Lisa nodded and smiled, "I understand."
Jungkook suddenly took a step closer and held Lisa's shoulders. He stared right into her eyes, making Lisa gulp.
"Third, I want to atone for everything I did. For both you and Eli. I have nothing else left for me now, Lisa. That's why I'm going to protect you and Chloe. I'll also protect Jennie noona and hyung." Jungkook said, making Lisa's eyes widen.
"Jungkook—"
Shd was cut off when Jungkook suddenly hugged her tight. His heavy breathing softly brushes on the crook of her neck.
"I want to do it right, Lisa. I don't want everyone to end up like Eli. I want to take responsibility. If you won't let me, I'm going to really hate you. Even if you are Eli's sister. That fact is what makes me want to do this more." He said.
Lisa sighed and hugged him back, "It's not like I have any authority to stop you. I'm just your 'suppose-to-be-sister-in-law' and not Eli, a lover or a parent—"
"You're my savior." And he hugged her tighter.
Lisa froze on her spot, not knowing how to feel.
"Taehyung hyung is also my savior. But he said he also owed his life on you for something that happened 9 months ago. All my other hyungs also said you were their savior for lifting their life sentence in prison." He continued.
He pulled away from the hug, "Those two days of staying in town, all I did was receive from the villagers. I realized something whenever they talk about you. All my life, all I did was receive. Even with Eli. She kept giving me everything I wanted but at the last minute, I argued and didn't really thought about our relationship that time. I was selfish and childish."
"But you... all you did was give, Lisa. You gave your life for Eli. For the children here in this island. For me."
Lisa's eyes started watering, "Jungkook..."
"If you don't want to receive my atonement, I'm going to hate you for real. I said it two times already." Jungkook scoffed.
Lisa smiled back, wiping her tears asay.
"Okay." She nodded.
Jungkook smiled back and patted Lisa's head, messing up with her cute short hair.
"I'm gonna go now, then. I'll just get my things back in town. I'll come back right away." Jungkook said.
Lisa rolled her eyes, "Geez, why are you talking like a father who's about to go abroad?"
Jungkook only chuckled and walked out of the mansion. Lisa followed but stopped by the entrance door, watching Jungkook walking towards the gate.
The guy looked back one last time and waved her hands. The short haired doll waved back.
He rode his motorcycle and went back to the town. He entered the apartment with a smile from ear to ear, excited to move back in the mansion and see Taehyung and Jennie as well.
But his digital phone on his bedside table started ringing.
He answered, "Hello?"
"Jungkook?! Is this Jungkook?!" Taehyung's voice rang on his ears.
"Yeah, it's me! Hyung, what's wrong?" Jungkook worriedly asked.
Taehyung's voice suddenly broke down to small light sobs.
"Hyung! Why are you crying?! What happened?!" Jungkook exclaimed.
"The mansion was bombed. It exploded. Nothing's left."
•••
Eli's gone y'all clowns.
- satanya000