Two weeks have passed since their discharge from the hospital, and Lisa woke up early as she was so eager to go back to work again.
She was humming while she was readying herself. Jungkook laughed, seeing how excited his wife is, and asked, "Ready to go?" Lisa nodded, and they headed to the car.
"Madam, please bring this," said one of their helpers. It was a packed meal.
Her mother insisted on sending a few helpers for the couple, and they did not refuse. Jungkook agreed that having some helpers around the house would help in looking after his wife and monitoring her well-being better, especially when it comes to dealing with all her cravings. Having the helpers around, Lisa could now have any dish she wanted, and it would be homemade instead of store-bought, so Jungkook wouldn't have to worry about the meal being unhealthy.
"What's this?" Lisa asked, and Jungkook answered, "I made it for you. Just try it later and see if you like it."
Lisa beamed and gave her husband a sweet smile followed by tiny smooches on his face, which made the helper look away in embarrassment.
Jungkook dropped her off in front of the Cooper Network building. The moment she stepped into the newsroom, she was warmly welcomed by the news crew. Everyone was excited to see her again and hugged her while giving her words of affirmation.
"Welcome back, Lisa!"
"We all missed you, kiddo!"
"You're amazing, and we're so glad you came back safe."
"We should celebrate later!" Jazz suggested, and they all agreed. They also heard the news about her pregnancy, so they congratulated her on that too.
Thea watched them from afar, with a gentle smile on her face as the scene before her warmed her heart. Lisa was well-loved by everyone, not because of her true identity, but because of her personality. And she really admired her for that.
"You did not tell them yet?" Lisa asked when they were left alone to review some news items.
Thea shook her head and smiled as she replied, "I informed them about my pregnancy, but not about Jeru. I want to keep it private for his sake. Thankfully none of them has pried into it. Besides, my growing stomach would not be that noticeable to the viewers anyway."
It was true. As a news anchor who delivered primetime news from the studio, it was not difficult to hide her pregnancy. She only had to sit behind a desk, of which height they could always adjust to conceal her lower body.
"Oh yeah, right, Gavin will be leaving soon, and they were looking for his replacement. I think you should try," Suggested Thea.
Lisa laughed as she said, "But then they would have two pregnant women delivering the primetime news. I could already imagine Director Holmes going bald from scratching his head as he goes nuts from it. Besides, I'm sure they prefer a male anchor to accompany you…"
Thea laughed too, but then she recalled, "No, no, no, I think you really should try. I remember they said they were planning to add two anchors next to me, one male and one female."
Lisa's eyes twinkled when she heard that, "Really? Okay, I'll think about it."
Then she looked intently at Thea before she added, "By the way, you seem really happy now, and I'm so glad to see that. It was nice to see you and Jeru the other day, and both of you seem to understand each other well. Jeru was a bit too rigid and full of pride before because he's the only son of the Lius. But behind all that, he really is a nice person. He will definitely take good care of you and your baby."
Thea smiled and nodded. Her cheeks blushed when the topic changed to Jeru. That day, she and Jeru could not finish what they had started because Jeru received an urgent call from the office right after his grandmother had left.
'Maybe we could continue later,' Thea thought and giggled unconsciously. Lisa gave her a mischievous smile as she teased her, "Did you just have a naughty thought? I can tell you already like him a lot."
Thea could only give Lisa a bashful smile. Then she suddenly smacked her forehead as though she just remembered something and told Lisa, "Oh, right! I met her. Old Madam Liu."
"Ah, such an overbearing lady, right?" Lisa commented with a smirk. She was sure the old lady must have made Thea feel intimidated at their first meeting.
Lisa listened attentively as Thea narrated how she met Jeru's grandmother and confided about how the meeting had made her feel.
"Don't worry too much and trust your husband to handle it. Just try to be as nice as possible to Old Madam Liu because she's still an elder, and she's Jeru's family. You know the saying, kill her with kindness, and leave her confused," Lisa advised her with a wink, which made Thea laugh.
Lisa suddenly sighed and looked so dejected, "I'm craving for something sweet now..." Thea laughed at Lisa's pitiful expression. She stood up and said, "Let's go have a snack at the cafe. There's a lot of sweets there you could choose from."
The two women entered the cafe and were greeted by their big boss, Bernard Cooper. "It's good you're finally back, Lisa… Safe and sound," Bernard said, as he treated them both to some sweet snacks.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Lisa asked when he noticed Bernard keep looking at the clock. "Yeah.." Bernard answered, timidly.
A woman approached them. Although she was wearing quite a simple dress, it did not hide her sophisticated look. She smiled at them when Bernard introduced her.
"This is Deyna Song, my girlfriend. Please don't mention this to Xander, Lisa… You know that bully won't stop teasing me once he finds out," Bernard pleaded, which made Lisa laugh.
"Alright, boss, no problem! Just remember to treat us to more snacks in the future and rest assured that these lips are sealed," Lisa said as she gestured the act of zipping her own lips.
Lisa suddenly felt her stomach churn and quickly excused herself to the restroom.
"My girlfriend is a doctor, and she's a good one. She's the one who helped Ryu Ken regain his consciousness," Bernard said when Lisa was back. Thea had informed him that both of them were pregnant.
Deyna smiled shyly as she gestured for Bernard to stop praising her. 'She's so cute,' Lisa thought, and casually stated, "Geez, how I hope big bro Xander could also meet a nice woman like Deyna…"
"Let her check on you, girls. She's really an excellent doctor. She could tell your conditions simply by checking your pulse…" Bernard proudly offered.
Lisa immediately extended her wrist to Deyna to get her pulse checked.
"Hmm, are you in the first trimester? Your pulse rate is considerably fast. I may be wrong, but it looks like you're pregnant with twins. But please let the ultrasound confirm it because I could be wrong," Deyna advised. She then informed Lisa that she was quite healthy and there was nothing to worry about so far.
Lisa could barely conceal her delight as she tightly clenched Deyna's hands and declared, "Oh gosh, if you're correct about the twins… I promise I will grant you any wish!"
Then she turned to Bernard and jested, "Boss, you should have her work at Yang Hospital. She'll be able to kick my cousin brother out and replace him as the director…"
"That's what I told her…" Bernard said as he looked at Deyna lovingly, who only answered them with a shy smile.
Lisa could not help but chuckle when she imagined her big bro Xander having a timid girlfriend like her… It should be funny considering what a chatterbox her cousin brother was. The two would absolutely complement each other perfectly.
*******
Jungkook dropped by his apartment to get some of his things.
He looked at Torin's door across the hall and decided to drop by and check on Torin first. Besides, he had not properly thanked him for saving his life.
He knew Torin's password, and he was used to just opening his door without ringing the doorbell. So, this time, he also did the same.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was startled to see Lyra standing in the living room. It looked like she was startled too as she stood frozen in her spot while she looked at him with her mouth agape. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you here? Haven't you moved into my apartment already?"
Lyra gulped down hard and quickly nodded. Torin, who just came from the kitchen, greeted Jungkook as soon as he saw him. He went to him and said, as he hugged him, "Bro, why are you here? Sit, and I'll get you some snacks."
Jungkook sat down on the couch and answered, "I'm just here to get some stuff from my apartment." Then he shifted his gaze back to Lyra and repeated his question, "What are you doing here?"
Lyra, who had now regained her composure, smiled and said, "Oh, I'm here to see if he needs anything. I cook for him once in a while. He saved your life, so it's the least that I could do."
She exchanged meaningful glances with Torin, who was now in the middle of preparing a sandwich and a glass of juice for Jungkook. Torin signaled Lyra to leave them alone, and the latter followed as she bid her farewell to Jungkook, "Big bro, I will just go ahead and leave now. I still need to check some case files." Jungkook nodded.
"Here, bro, eat something… You still need to gain some more weight to get back to your previous weight," Torin said as he put down the sandwich and a glass of juice down in front of Jungkook.
Jungkook accepted it and ate heartily while he informed Torin of his plan, "I already went to the base to file my resignation. I will make a few endorsements for my replacement and hand over things in several weeks."
"I see. So you really will be focusing on your business now? Hmm, good luck, bro… I hope you'll enjoy it and succeed in it. But in case you miss us and want to become a soldier again, you can always come back. You know, a lot of the high ranking officers have also endorsed you to be the successor of Field Marshal Chan," Torin told him while looking so dejected.
Torin was sad that Jungkook was leaving the military. He would definitely miss to see his bro in action. Jungkook was unquestionably the best superior Torin had ever had. This was also the reason why he was willing to shield him from Leon's bullets without a second thought. Because he knew, Jungkook would also do the same for him, or any of his subordinates.
Torin then sat next to Jungkook and asked, "Bro, can I have just one request from you?"
Jungkook furrowed his brow, hearing the seriousness in Torin's voice. He looked back at him and answered sternly, "Yes. Anything you need. I owe you my life, and I'm really thankful. However, hopefully, that would be the last time you would do such a thing, Torin. I don't want you to do that ever again. But, thank you, bro..."
Torin did not know how to respond to that. Seeing the sincerity in Jungkook's eyes made him want to cry. He looked down and murmured, "Nah, whatever you say, you know I will do the same thing over and over again. You are my brother, and you'll soon be my brother-in-law."
"Huh? What!?" Jungkook asked as he stared at Torin in disbelief.
Then he frowned and glared at him, "Who?"
Torin flinched and quickly answered, "Lyra! Lyra, of course! Bro, Rizie is a toddler!"
Then he carefully added when Jungkook didn't respond at all and was just looking at him with a frown, "Bro, I know you are in shock, right now, but I'm dead serious. I love Lyra, for quite a while now, and I intend to marry her. I'm serious about her, and I'm willing to do anything for you to accept me as your brother-in-law. Just tell me what I need to do."
Jungkook heard each and every word, but he was really flustered and was not able to react. He did not expect it. A lot of things must have happened when he was missing.
"Who else knew?" he asked after a few moments. "Mom already knew, and she told me to ask for your permission first…" Torin quickly replied.
"Your Mom? My Mom?" Jungkook puzzled.
"Bro! Your mom, of course! Why would my mom tell me to ask for your permission first? Oh, yeah, you probably didn't notice because you've been busy with all the things that you have to take care of since you're back, but I call your mom 'Mom' too, now..." Torin answered.
Then there was silence again. Jungkook's face was unreadable. Then he suddenly looked at Torin with narrowed eyes and remarked out of nowhere, "You said Rizie is a toddler. Lisa and Rizie are of the same age. Are you saying I married a toddler? Or I'm a dirty old man?"
"No, bro! That's not what I meant. I said it because don't you think it was obvious that I was talking about Lyra? Gosh, how could it be Rizie? Rizie is an immature lady," complained Torin. He could not believe Jungkook would even think of him having a romantic relationship with a juvenile like Rizie.
"How would I know who among my sisters? You joked around with both of them, like an immature man!" Jungkook retorted. He really had no clue whether it was Rizie or Lyra.
After he could finally digest the information, he recalled how Torin loved to troll around and used to prank him, so Jungkook could not help but want to let his friend taste his own dose of medicine.
"This has been a surprise, Torin. I never expected this. You know that I love you like a brother and I trust you. But I also know what a flirt you could be. Didn't you also like Lana before? I'm telling you, Torin, if you're only fooling around with Lyra or if you ever hurt her, then our brotherhood will be put in jeopardy. I don't have anything against you… However, it doesn't mean that I will accept you to be my brother-in-law just like that. Let me talk to Lyra first…" Jungkook said in a solemn voice before he stood up to leave.
"Bro, I said I will marry Lyra… I'm not fooling around with your sister. I have always liked her, I want to marry her, and I will never hurt her. So take back that word 'jeopardy'…" Torin asserted because he felt Jungkook was taking him lightly.
Jungkook just scoffed while he was trying to hide his grin, and said, "Yeah, I heard you. So I said, let me talk to Lyra first. Then I'll see what you need to do for me to accept you as my brother-in-law. Honestly, I feel very conflicted about this. Are you sure this is not because you want to be a part of my family badly? I can always adopt you as my brother, Torin. I actually prefer to have you as my brother to brother-in-law."
"Brooooo…" Torin cried of exasperation. "You said I can request anything from you! Well, there's nothing more that I wanted than to become your brother-in-law!" Torin complained, almost teary-eyed.