'Doctor Jeon,' a young pretty nurse called. She fluttered her eyelashes under a thick layer of mascara. 'Mr Kim's back for another check up, he requested to see you.'
Jungkook lifted his head from reading a patient's medical file. He wore a white collar shirt and trousers. He wore glasses on his nose, which made him look as stern as his work attitude. 'Ok.' He nodded his head. 'I'll be right there.'
The young nurse was mesmerised by his smooth voice and she stood on the same spot by Jeon Jungkook's office door.
Jungkook lifted his head again when he noticed the young nurse didn't leave. 'Is there anything else?'
'Uh...' the young nurse said and she blushed. 'I... I wanted to ask you if you wanted to eat something, Mr Kim brought a lot of gifts, I can bring you the edible gifts.'
Jungkook smiled politely and nodded his head. 'Ok, thank you.'
The young nurse flew off. Jungkook took off his glasses and put it on his desk. He stood, looked outside his office window, his stern eyes softened and he smiled brightly.
Jungkook propped his palms on the windowsill. He liked that his office was on the fifth floor of the hospital and it gave him a clear city view. He could see the best city restaurant and cafe across the road and most importantly - Girl Studio, a famous studio in the city.
An ambulance was parked outside the studio and it quickly returned to the hospital. Jungkook smiled and sighed at the same time, he pitied the unlucky man who encountered a fierce opponent.
Jungkook glanced at the clock on the wall, it was still early but he didn't know how much longer Lisa could restrain herself. Because yesterday he received a phone call from his mum who informed him that aunty Manoban was going visit him and Lisa's home. He smiled, he was worried the volcanic Lalisa Manoban was going to charge into his office soon.
'Jeon... Doctor Jeon,' the young nurse called.
The young nurse couldn't believe her eyes. The stern Dr. Jeon was smiling brightly and his stern eyes were warm.
Jungkook put on his glasses and he composed himself. He accepted the box of sweet pastries from the young nurse and put the box on his desk. He politely smiled. 'Thank you. I'll eat it later. I'll go see Mr. Kim first.'
Jungkook walked passed the young nurse and he found Mr. Kim waiting outside near his office. 'Mr. Kim, how are you feeling?'
'Good. All thanks to a young national gem surgeon like you. Thanks to your surgical skills, my life was saved,' Mr. Kim said.
'It was a standard surgery, the likelihood of it being unsuccessful was low,' Jungkook said humbly.
'Good, you're not arrogant or hot headed. You're a responsible and ethical man,' Mr. Kim praised. He patted his granddaughter's hand. 'Yeri, this is Doctor Jeon. If it won't for him, I wouldn't be alive to go home with you.'
Kim Yeri stomped her foot in protest. 'Grandpa, don't speak nonsense. You're going to live to a ripe age pass one hundred years old.'
Mr. Kim laughed a jolly laugh. 'Doctor Jeon don't mind my laughable granddaughter. She just came back from overseas so she's just sulking because she hasn't seen me for a long time.'
'I won't,' Jungkook said politely.
'Doctor Jeon, has my grandpa recovered from his surgery?' Kim Yeri asked.
Yeri was a beautiful young girl. Her long hair and the sweet smile on her face was like a little lively doll. But Jungkook just glanced at her once and he focused on the medical file in his hand. 'Not bad. But he shouldn't over exert himself and take plenty of rest.'
Mr. Kim nodded his head. Yeri wanted to say something but a disgruntled patient's loud voice interrupted their conversation.
'That bitch, I won't let that girl off the hook! Where's the doctor? Why isn't the doctor here? Is the doctor looking down on me because the doctor thinks I don't have money?' the man beaten by a Lisa said.
'Sorry, I need to attend to the new patient admitted to the hospital,' Jungkook said and he quickly walked toward the emergency ward.
The man laid on a stretcher and he waved his hand in the air to threaten the paramedics who wheeled him into the hospital. Jungkook pressed the man's hand down on the stretcher.
'Ow!' the man cried out.
The man assessed his captor, who looked like a stern young man with glasses. The man thought he couldn't beat the bitch but he could easily beat the young man in front of him. 'Bastard! What are you doing? Do you want a beating?'
'If your ribs are fractured, it could puncture your lungs and you won't live longer than half an hour. If it punctures your heart, you won't live longer than fifteen minutes,' Jungkook warned. He looked at his wristwatch. 'If you want to die, I'll help you record your time of death.'
'I, I...' the man stammered and he laid motionless on the stretcher.
Jungkook smiled charmingly. 'Also, I'm a doctor. If you want to chase me away then it means you're refusing treatment which is good for the hospital, because the hospital won't be responsible for delaying treatment. Remember to call your family and explain to them about your decision within the time you have left, it'll save them money suing the hospital.'
'I... what should I do now?' the man asked.
'From the sound of your voice, it appears you've fractured your ribs so you'll need to be examined thoroughly. Your fractured ribs can affect other vital organs and-'
'You, you... don't say anymore,' the man said. His whole body trembled. 'I want to have a complete health check, I'll follow your recommendation.'
'Then you'll need an x-ray, CT scan... um, I'll give your nurse a list. Also, you'll need to have blood tests too,' Jungkook said.
'Why do I need to have a blood test?' the man asked.
'I'm worried you have internal haemorrhaging-' Jungkook said.
'Ok, take me wherever I need to go for testing,' the man said.
The young nurse who wore thick mascara helped wheeled the man for body scans.
'Nurse, is there a doctor here named Jeon Jungkook?' the man asked.
'Doctor Jeon? He's the doctor who helped examined you before,' the young nurse said.
'The doctor before... if the two of them combined, one person injuring a man and the other person saving the injured man... they'll be a pair of professional scammers! It's robbery in broad daylight!' the man protested.
One half of the alleged 'professional scammers' returned to his office. He looked outside his office window and he saw Lisa walked across the road and she jumped over the hospital's fence. She entered the hospital and he lost sight of her.
Jungkook heard a knock on his door and he quickly turned around, he was disappointed it was Kim Yeri.
'Doctor Jeon, my grandpa wants to invite you to a banquet to celebrate his recovery. He hopes you'll come,' Yeri said.
Yeri assessed Jeon Jungkook's bright smile and she assumed he wasn't immune to building a good connection with the Kim household. But Jungkook wasn't smiling at her... before she could ask him if he was accepting the banquet invite, the door slammed into her face.
'Hey!' Lisa cried out. She slammed her palms onto Jungkook's table. 'Are you coming over my place tonight or am I coming over your place?'
'There's more room at my place, come to my place tonight,' Jungkook said.
'Ok!' Lisa said. She turned around and she saw a young nurse blushed and a young girl rubbed their cheeks. Her eyes lit up mischievously. She blew Jungkook a kiss. 'Tonight, remember to wash your bottom and wait for me.'
Kim Yeri and the young nurse were shocked and they both took a deep breath at the same time.
Jungkook's bright smile didn't change. 'Ok. Your husky voice today is very sexy. I can't wait to hear you scream tonight with your husky voice.'
Lisa walked passed Yeri and the young nurse, and she heard them took another deep breath. She felt triumphant she spoiled Jungkook's plans with his beauties at the hospital, and all of her frustrations and anxiety built up through the day were melted.
***
Lisa carried a bag of snacks and beers in her right hand and she swung a key ring around her left index finger. She hummed songs on the way to Jungkook's home.
Jungkook's home was inside an extravagant high-rise building, his home was a lot better than her cracked and on the verge of crumbling home. Jungkook's neighbourhood didn't have stray cats screech meow sounds in the middle of the night and there were no rowdy fish markets where people exchanged profanities like roosters crudely crowing at dogs. The smooth pebbled footpath to Jungkook's home was surrounded by aesthetic greenery, fresh air and ample sunlight.
Lisa purposely circled around the high-rise building to check if Jungkook's car was parked in the tenants' parking bay. She was happy she didn't see his car and she comfortably entered the high-rise building.
In the elevator Lisa was still mystified how twenty years ago Jungkook's dad's business took off like a kite elevated by the wind, which was why twenty years later Jungkook lived in a luxurious neighbourhood and Lisa lived in a poor neighbourhood.
But even if Lisa was beaten to death, she wouldn't admit Jungkook's dad enrolled her and Jungkook in the same primary school, high school and the most prestigious city college. Unfortunately when she and Jungkook came home to visit from the city, they complained to their parents they didn't like living in the crowded city and Jungkook's dad immediately bought an apartment in the high-rise building. Jungkook's dad said he bought the apartment for her and Jungkook to live together and take care of each other to give their parents a peace of mind.
The number above the glass elevator door quickly increased, Lisa exhaled deeply and she focused her attentions on the moon above the night sky outside the high-rise building.
Lisa had known Jeon Jungkook for many years, and between them they never had a decent word to say about each other. Why did their parents think they could take care of each other? Weren't their parents scared they'd live together for less than three days, Jungkook's lungs would explode from annoyance and she would pound Jungkook's face until it was flat as a pancake?
Lisa and Jungkook's lives were intertwined for more than twenty years yet their parents didn't see the real nature of their relationship. Didn't their parents feel since they were adults and even if their parents didn't think they hated each other, an unrelated and unmarried male and female living together was a concern?
Lisa's carefree childhood years, her awkward adolescent years and her early spring young adult years flew by and cemented in her memories was an image of the same monster who shadowed her.
Lisa felt she only kissed Jungkook once and held him a little. So she didn't understand why it was necessary for Jungkook to shadow her until death.
Lisa hated Jungkook, looked down on him and resented him. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she just needed to think about Jungkook's face and she'd want to run to him and give him a beating to feel better. But she didn't dare vent on Jungkook in front of her parents and his parents.
Lisa would shudder and feel a cold sensation on her nape if she just thought about the past how her mum waved a pot and chased her passed ten homes of neighbouring families.
But what held back Lisa the most from killing Jungkook was his mum. Jungkook's mum was born with a hereditary heart condition and when Jungkook's mum gave birth to Jungkook she nearly lost her life. From the top to bottom members of the Jeon household, Jungkook's mum was under their protection as though Jungkook's mum was a national treasure. Even Jungkook's career path was chosen by the head of the Jeon household for Jungkook to help treat his mum's heart condition.
Lisa was mindful of Jungkook's mum's heart condition, she'd rather her mum beat her bottom until it ballooned like a red rose than dare to provoke Jungkook's mum.
Jungkook's mum's tears could flow like oceans. If Lisa or Jungkook made his mum laugh, their lives were spared but if they evoked his mum's tears, they suffered. When they were younger her parents and his dad would join forces to punish them if they upset his mum, they were grounded for a month, their pocket money was deducted and all their recreational activities were cancelled.
Lisa and Jungkook's tragic childhood experiences meant even if they couldn't coexist under the same sky, they didn't dare to show it in front of her parents and his parents. Neither of them could tolerate each other's company and they wanted to be far away from each other. But neither of them wanted to earn the evil title of provoking his mum's weak heart so they were stuck together in an undesirable situation.
Lisa fiddled for the house key on her key chain, which she hadn't used for a long time. Then she looked at Jungkook's shiny door and she didn't hesitate to lift her leg and kick the shiny door. Afterward a shoe print marred the shiny door.
Lisa retrieved her leg and she walked through the door. Inside Jungkook's home everything was clean. She tossed her shoes and she walked barefoot into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and as she expected it was full of food and drinks, except her beloved beers and junk food.
Lisa sighed and unpacked her bag of beers and junk food into the fridge. She'd known Jungkook for many years so she knew his personality too well. He restricted himself, he was stern, he didn't touch junk food, he didn't drink, he didn't smoke, he slept early and woke up early, he didn't indulge in the slightest act of dishonesty and in her eyes living like him wasn't a meaningful life.
Lisa walked to her room. Inside her room she swept a finger on a table and she was satisfied there wasn't a speck of dust. She felt it was worth her insistence on paying half of his cleaner's fee to maintain her room in a clean condition to await her occasional visits.
Lisa opened drawers which stored her clothes then she picked up some of her neatly folded clothes and she flung it around her room to make her room look like it was lived in. She was satisfied about the new condition of her room, she grabbed a clean set of clothes and she walked to the bathroom to take a shower.
***
Jungkook sat opposite his good friend at a quiet cafe and they chatted comfortably.
When Jungkook glanced at the clock on the cafe wall it was half past eight in the evening and he got a feeling the barrel of dynamite arrived at his home. He just hoped his house under her vandalising hands wouldn't turn into a horrific dump. An image of Lisa came into his mind, she would kick his front door open, barge into his house with dirty shoes on and walk straight to the bathroom. He smiled brightly and he wondered whether he should call a cleaner to tidy his house.
Jung Jaehyun looked at Jungkook who held a cup of coffee in his hand and Jungkook was smiling too brightly, Jaehyun shivered and shook his head. 'What are you thinking about? If you keep smiling in front of me, it'll make people misunderstand.'
Jungkook put his cup of coffee onto the table. 'It's not the first day or the second day people have misunderstood us. Till this day we're still ranked first as the best pair of boy lovers in our old school. Do you want to recreate the same scene from that year?'
Jung Jaehyun gave Jungkook a no-way look. 'Is that alien a girl or not? She drank a lot that night but she was still capable of stripping you and me naked and tossing us onto the bed to take a photo. Even if I wanted to take revenge it'll be like chasing the wind, I can't win a fight against her.'
Jungkook laughed. 'I remember that year there was someone who declared he wanted to pursue her. He said he liked her free spirited attitude and she was better than a weak feminie girl. Her androgynous looks isn't easy to attract men, if taken home any man will have a peace of mind and she'll be the best life companion.'
Jaehyun wiped sweat off his forehead. 'I want an independent girl but I don't want a girl who can rip me in half with her bare hands. I'll be emasculated if I take her home and whenever she's unhappy she'll use me as a punching bag.'
Jaehyun shook his head and he sighed. That year he felt Lisa was a special girl who wasn't like the other girls their age that only knew how to talk about makeup and shopping. But when he asked her to go out on a date with him, his pursuit sunk into the deep end.
Then Jaehyun made a plan to change Lisa's heart, he dragged his good friend Jungkook to help execute his plan. Jaehyun planned to personally hand Lisa a birthday cake on her birthday but... on the night of her birthday, she requested to have birthday drinks with him and Jungkook. Jaehyun drank bowl after bowl of alcohol because he wanted to impress Lisa and the result of his plan was... the following morning when he and Jungkook woke up, they were both naked on a bed and they embraced each other. Lisa posted the photo of him and Jungkook in a compromising intimate position on their school's intranet and it instantly got one thousand views.
In the photo, Jaehyun's tongue licked a creamy pink flower on Jungkook's chest. Yes, the creamy pink flower was the same one he asked a patissier to decorate on top of Lalisa Manoban's birthday cake.
In a blink of an eye, Jaehyun and Jungkook who were their school's famous heartthrobs became the school's best pair of boy lovers. Jaehyun was humiliated to death, but Jungkook was neutral about it.
Then Jaehyun was dizzy with anger and he confronted Lisa to ask her why she rejected and humiliated him. Unexpectedly, Lisa didn't open her mouth, she flipped him over her shoulder and he fell onto the ground and what she told him that day was etched deeply at the bottom of his heart - 'Who told you to be friends with Jeon Jungkook?'
Just because Jung Jaehyun was friends with Jeon Jungkook, Jaehyun's first crush on a girl was put to death in an early grave... just because he was friends with Jeon Jungkook, his reputation was destroyed... just because he was friends with Jeon Jungkook he was turned into a joke... he was just friends with Jeon Jungkook, why couldn't she coexist under the same sky as Jungkook and why did she had such an angry outburst?
'Speaking about that year, your girlfriend broke up with you, didn't you have any regrets?' Jaehyun asked.
'Should I have any regrets?' Jungkook asked.
Jaehyun was friends with Jungkook for eight years and he knew Jungkook didn't want to continue their conversation. But Jaehyun was unhappy that he was the only one who was still bitter about that year. 'Perhaps for you not having a girlfriend isn't a regret or not having your reputation intact isn't a regret. But what about my reputation? Being associated with you as a pair of lovers has been tough for me.'
Jaehyun's loudly spoken grievances earned him curious looks from the cafe's other customers and his back turned cold.
Jaehyun lowered his voice and he glared at Jungkook. 'You could have cleared the misunderstanding back then or even not explain anything. But what was your reaction? You said um!'
'Um. Did you ask to see me today to talk about your grievances that year?' Jungkook asked.
Jaehyun snapped out of his self-pity and he remembered the main reason why he wanted to see Jungkook. 'Our old professor opened a new plastic surgery clinic and he hopes when we're free we can help him. I came here to ask your opinion.'
'Plastic surgery?' Jungkook asked. He wrinkled his forehead and deliberated. 'I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon.'
'But you're also certified to as a plastic surgeon,' Jaehyun reasoned and he wanted to provoke Jungkook more. 'The professor was the one who guided us, it's not right to refuse him.'
Jungkook laughed. 'Haven't you made a decision already? Then why still ask me about it? You could have just called me to let me know. You didn't need to see me in person.'
Jaehyun was angry and he glared at Jungkook. 'It's been two months since we met up, just think of it as me missing you.'
The other customers gave Jaehyun another curious look. He stood, hunched over to hide his face and he ran off to escape the curious looks.
Later at Jungkook's home, Lisa used a towel to dry her hair and body. She heard a phone ringing from the living room, she quickly put on a robe and she ran outside to the living room. She dived face down onto the sofa, legs draped over a sofa arm and she reached for the phone.
When Jungkook walked through his front door, in front of him was a pair of long legs and a raised bottom. Lisa wore a loose robe and the landscape between the gap of her legs didn't leave anything to the imagination.