Jungkook finally turned his head and gazed steadily at Lisa, as though he was trying to find something in her face. Mentally, Lisa felt bashful and began talking, trying to defend her words.
"Didn't I tell you last time that I have misandry? It's very difficult to come across a guy I can sit within his car and chat like this."
"Oh." Jungkook made a sound of understanding, an elusive smile gracing his lips.
Lisa pointed ahead, fiercely saying, "Look at the road when you're driving!"
Jungkook chuckled softly before withdrawing his gaze, not forcefully pursuing this topic anymore.
His aunt lived in an ordinary neighbourhood. When he and Lisa walked up the stairs, he said to her, "Because auntie is barren, she lives by herself after she and her husband divorced."
Lisa was stunned slightly before nodding. "I understand."
"I originally wanted to bring her to a place close to the Jeon Mansion, as it would be more convenient for me to look after her, but she didn't want it."
Lisa commented, "My mom is like this as well. I asked her to move together with me, but she steadfastly refused."
Jungkook smiled and said, "Moving in with you is also because you want her to look after you?"
"..."
Why was it that he said the same thing as her mom! Within her heart, Lisa was unconvinced.
"Although I am normally busy with work, I'm not as busy as you. Since you can take care of your aunt, how come I can't take care of my mom?"
Jungkook stated, "Because I am my own boss. If I don't want to work, then I don't have to work."
Lisa: "..."
She was immediately convinced.
Jungkook's aunt lived on the seventh floor, so after the two climbed up there, Lisa discovered that the door to her left was unlocked as the resident had specifically left it like that.
"Is it this side?" she asked.
"Mn."
Jungkook still walked up and rapped on the door. "Aunt Jiang."
The layout of this room had the door leading straight into the kitchen, where Aunt Jiang just happened to be cooking. Hearing his voice, she took two steps towards the door. After the door was opened, she stared blankly at them.
Today, Lisa had dressed specially for the occasion. She was wearing a dark, floral print dress along with a long, golden-brown fur vest. With a brown, broad-brimmed hat atop her head, the vibrancy and transition of colour made her appear fashionable and retro.
"This beautiful woman is..." Aunt Jiang's gaze fell upon Jungkook, a faint light flashing through her eyes.
Jungkook said, "Her name is Lisa, a friend of mine."
(An: Friends with benefits lol)
"Friend?" Aunt Jiang repeated his words.
Jungkook nodded, and Aunt Jiang nodded in understanding. Oh, meaning he has not caught her yet.
"Hello, Aunt Jiang," Lisa courteously greeted her. "I wish you a happy birthday."
"Thank you, thank you. Quick, come in and take a seat. Don't stand in the doorway."
Aunt Jiang invited them into her home before hurriedly giving them cups of hot water. "Look at you, you brought a friend over but didn't tell me ahead of time. I didn't make any preparations at all."
She emphasized 'friend' strongly. Jungkook calmly smiled and said, "Only this way will you get a nice surprise."
"It's a very nice surprise." Aunt Jiang once again examined Lisa and then walked to the kitchen. "You two have fun first; I still have food cooking in the kitchen."
Lisa looked in the direction of the kitchen and stood up from the sofa. "How about I go help you?"
"Don't look at you. You're wearing such pretty clothes, so let's not make them dirty. You and Jungkook can sit for a while. You'll be able to eat soon."
"Eh..."
But it was Aunt Jiang's birthday, yet she was still personally cooking for them, her guests. Lisa really felt somewhat embarrassed.
Jungkook pulled her down to sit on the sofa, turning on the television as he did so. "You should just relax and sit down. If you're really bored, I'll sing songs for you to hear."
Lisa: "..."
She began to watch television with single-hearted devotion.
Soon after, the aroma of food began wafting from the kitchen. Slightly smiling, she said to Jungkook, "Your aunt is very good to you. The food she is making are all your favourites."
Jung look faintly quirked his lips and responded, "Since I was a child, Aunt Jiang has been very good to me. I have always considered her to be a second mother."
Lisa nodded and expressed her understanding. "Then why aren't you going in to help your mom make food? Are you planning on letting her be busy in there alone?"
Jungkook laughed and said, "It's rare that someone is coming over to taste her cooking. You should let her enjoy herself."
Because Lisa paid a visit, Aunt Jiang added two dishes at the last minute, so cooking took a bit longer than she estimated. Before the meal was served, Jungkook took out a large cake he had pre-ordered and carefully dismantled the delicate paper case.
"Ya, this cake is really beautiful. I'd hate to eat it." Aunt Jiang stared at the cake on the table, her breath taken away.
Jungkook said, "I had specially requested CEO Seokjin's wife to make this birthday congratulations cake. Last time, you ate her orange mousse. Do you remember?"
"Yes, that young lady's baking skills are really excellent. I had even entertained some thoughts of learning to make desserts."
"You can. I'll deliver an oven to you later."
"I don't need you to deliver everything; I can buy it myself."
Aunt Jiang glared at him and admonished, "Furthermore, I will not move. Don't buy me a house; that's wasting money."
"Okay, okay, okay. I won't buy; I won't buy."
Jungkook coaxed Aunt Jiang as if he was coaxing a child, casually inserting a candle into the cake. "First, make a wish."
He lit the candle. Aunt Jiang placed her palms together in prayer, solemnly saying, "I wish for Jungkook to quickly find a girlfriend."
He Xiu laughed lightly and remarked, "Wishes spoken won't come true."
Aunt Jiang retorted, "I deliberately said it aloud for you to hear." After she said this, she winked in Lisa's direction.
Lisa: "..."
Aunt Jiang really was very good to Jungkook.
After the birthday wish, Jungkook gave everyone a small slice of cake. Today, it was Aunt Jiang's dishes that held the spotlight, so he dared not cut too large of a slice.
To the side, Lisa still hadn't finished eating her plate of cake, yet Aunt Jiang placed an eggplant slice into her bowl. "Taste a bit of the I made."
This deep-fried stuffed eggplant wasn't simply eggplant and meat cooked together; instead, it was two slices of deep-fried eggplant sandwiching a very small meatball. Jian Yan took a bite. Very sweet. The eggplant and the meat were very tasty together; not only that, it was just deep-fried a moment ago.
"Delicious. This resembles a dish from a large hotel."
Aunt Jiang said with slight pride, "I previously used to work in a hotel kitchen. I was the one to impart upon Jungkook his cooking skills."
"Wow, then he had food fortune."
"What fortune."
Jungkook shook his head with a chuckle. "Kitchen work is very busy. The majority of the time, I was eating the dishes my mom made."
Seeing that he was speaking of his mom very naturally in front of Lisa, Aunt Jiang knew that, as expected, it wasn't as simple as him just bringing a friend over for her birthday.
This clearly was him bringing home his future wife to meet her.
But this wife, he still hadn't captured her. She had to give him a helping hand.
After they finished eating, Jungkook assumed responsibility for washing the dishes of his own accord. Lisa stayed in the living room, chatting with Aunt Jiang.
Aung Jiang peeled fruit for her to eat and asked, "Miss Lisa, what do you do for a living?"
Lisa replied, "I draw manhua."
"Draw manhua?" Aunt Jiang seemed quite shocked. "Then how did you and Jungkook meet?"
"For my new project, I was thinking of drawing has a female lead that sells clothes in a general merchandise department store, so I went to Starlight General Merchandise to collect material."
"Oh, so it's like this." Aunt Jiang nodded and pushed the plate of fruit towards Lisa. "Eat fruit, eat fruit."
"Thank you, Aunt Jiang."
"No need for thanks." Aunt Jiang glanced at her again.
Truly, the more I look, the more I'm satisfied, the more beautiful I find her to be. Just like when Jungkook's mother was young.
"The matter of Jungkook's mother, he told you about it?
"Mn."
"You can't see it now as he's the eldest son of the Jeon Family, but as a child, he suffered a lot of hardships."
After Aunt Jiang said this, she sighed. "For his mother to give birth to him, she had a falling out with her family. She had actually faltered as well, thinking of aborting her child, but she ultimately didn't have the heart to do it. But her decision to not abort her child was correct, as Jungkook had been especially intelligent and thoughtful as a child. He knew his mother went through a lot of trouble, so he did all the basic housework by himself."
Lisa quietly listened to her speak. At that time, Jungkook must have only been five to six years old, yet he was already helping his mother with housework. Later on, he even took over the responsibility of cooking meals.
"He was such a small kid and couldn't even reach the kitchen counter. He would move a small stool by himself to stand on so he could cook. Unfortunately, his mother..." Aunt Jiang choked with sobs when she reached this point. Lisa slowly stroked her back, silently comforting her.
"When his mother left, she wanted to entrust him to me. I knew she didn't want to seek out Jungkook's father again, but I clearly understood my own capabilities. I couldn't give him anything. If he stayed with me, he would only bear hardships alongside me. He was seven, so young. I didn't want his future to be forfeited like this."
So she had taken Jungkook to his father. At that time, Jeon Minho had been very shocked; he seemed to have been absolutely unaware that he had another son. She later regretted this, afraid that Jungkook would be bullied within the Jeon Family and suffer a horrible childhood.
When she had thought of her own circumstances, however, she felt that he must go with his own father, as to how could it be better for him to go with her?
She held onto Lisa's hand, staring at her as she said, "Jungkook really is a good child."
Lisa lowered her eyes and smiled, saying, "I know; he is very good."
After Jungkook finished washing the dishes, he came out and saw Lisa and Aunt Jiang chatting joyously and harmoniously while eating fruit. He walked up to them and chuckled. "Is there any for me?"
Aunt Jiang glanced at him and handed over a slice of grapefruit to him. "This grapefruit has a lot of sweet juice. Lali left it especially for you."
Jungkook blinked. He had only been washing dishes, yet Miss Lisa had turned into Lali. He looked at Lisa. She raised a brow at him, not making a sound.
After the sky darkened, Jungkook drove Lisa back home. Because both of their identities had been exposed, Lisa also didn't have him send her back to her mother's place, instead sent her off to her apartment building.
Jungkook looked at the villa-style apartment building in front of his eyes and raised a brow at Lisa.
He said with laughter, "Teacher Lili's play was performed very thoroughly. Even the address is fake."
Lisa calmly countered, "Not fake; the place you went to last time was where my mom and I used to live. At the moment, my mom still lives there."
Jungkook nodded his head, not delving deeper into this topic. "Last time when Ryujin came to Starlight General Merchandise, she gave me an invitation to her engagement reception. Do you remember?
"I remember. What about it?"
"I don't know if you have any free time that day, but I want to invite you to go with me."