This was Jimin's first time asking someone out, so he said it with reserve. He didn't say stuff like 'I like you' or 'I'm in love with you'. All he said was, 'Do you want to date me? I'll be good to you'. But how could Lisa not understand a sentence as straightforward and simple as this?
After a while, Lisa turned around to ask, "Are you addicted to cheating?"
"What?" Jimin frowned.
"Don't you have a girlfriend already? Is it okay to say something like this to me? I think it's considered cheating. Our country preaches monogamy. If you cheat, you'll be called a cheating asshole, so, for your own image, you really shouldn't."
"Those aren't actual girlfriends; at most, they're women." Jimin was clear to draw the line.
All these years, including Seulgi, his relationship with those women was just a combination of money and sex.
He was just looking for a way out of boredom and loneliness and didn't really fall in love with anyone, so he was just playing games.
Therefore, he didn't think that he was cheating; on the other hand, he thought Lisa was making too big of a deal out of it.
"Oh, maybe I'm not up to date with stuff like this, but I have a boyfriend, and I don't want to be called a cheating bitch. Most importantly, I won't leave him. We are very much in love and have a very stable relationship. Thank you for your kindness, I hope that you can live a healthy life and be happy in your work."
Then, Lisa turned on her heels and left…
Live a healthy life? Be happy in your work? She was weird, does she have to be so unique, even in her rejection? Jimin's entire face fell. The first time he expressed his feelings towards a girl, he felt as if someone poured a bucket of ice water down his back…
After he returned to his room, Jimin, unhappy, took out his phone and typed in a WeChat group filled with close friends, "What should I do if a girl I like has a boyfriend?"
"Make her sleep with you. That's how people fall in love," one of his buddies replied.
"Steal her, no one in Seoul is your match. You have more money and better looks."
"Offer her boyfriend money and make him back off. That'll give you a chance."
"Just ask her what she wants and fulfill all her wishes. By then, she'll want to sleep with you."
Although all his buddies had a point, Jimin didn't think that any of those methods would work on Lisa.
Make her sleep with him? That was degrading to him – he was good looking and had a hefty background. Did he really need to force somebody to sleep with him?
It would be such an embarrassment if other people found out.
Steal her? That was too over-the-top; plus, with Lisa's personality, she would probably end up hating him. What kind of future would they have then?
Give her boyfriend money? Jimin immediately eliminated that option. He didn't know what Lisa's boyfriend did for a living, as he had yet to find out anything about him. That alone means that he was definitely someone with a hefty background; would he really accept Jimin's money?
As for fulfilling all her wishes… he had tried that already; Lisa laughed at him and called him a genie…
Therefore, nothing would work, and all the above suggestions were moot…
"What's going on? Did the prettiest girl on this earth appear in Seoul? Did she break your heart?" one of his buddies gossiped.
As one of the four princes, Kim Taehyung was close to Jimin. He sent a smirking emoji to the group when he saw Jimin's question.
Then, Taehyung wrote, "Men aren't loyal. If they are, it's because the temptation isn't enough. Women aren't loyal either. If they are, it's because you haven't offered her enough to betray her boyfriend. If you offer her enough, you'll succeed."
After Jimin saw this, he thought about it and became even more depressed…
After his discharge, it would be much harder for him to see Lisa…
*
After Lisa got off work, she was going to head back to home when Haruto called her. She immediately went to his school.
Haruto stood before a yellow sports car; he looked distracted.
"Noona, is my car pretty?"
"Where did you get it?" Lisa frowned, a little unhappy.
"A few days ago, a company sponsored an electric car designing competition, and my design won first place. This is the prize the company gave me."
"Isn't that a good thing? Why is your expression weird?" Lisa saw right through her brother.
Haruto looked down. After a moment's thought, he said, "Noona, I don't want to lie to you. The sponsor… is Jeon cooperation."
Lisa's expression changed when she heard what he said…
"Don't be mad, noona. I really didn't know what happened, I also didn't know that JC sponsored this. I only noticed today when I got the car. I didn't do this on purpose, so please don't tell mom." Haruto knew, any thing related to 'the Jeons' was his mom and sister's pressure point.
It was clear that he felt quite melancholic.
"Have… you seen him?" asked Lisa tentatively.
"Who? Jungkook hyung?"
"Yeah."
"No, hyung's assistant helped me with the registration materials when I went today. Honestly, noona, my design wasn't so great, but it still managed to win. Everyone said that I lucked out big time. I'm not a natural-born genius like you are, and no matter how hard I try, my grades are only average, so I thought that me winning this award had something to do with you. I thought that… Jungkook hyung still likes you, and he wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to you."
Lisa sighed after she heard what he said. She really wanted to tell Haruto that she was already with Jungkook.
However, she was scared that it would stress Haruto out if he knew. So after some thought, she chose not to talk about it.
"This car is the model from the Transformers movie, right?" Lisa asked as she looked at the sports car.
Haruto nodded aggressively, "Yes, it's Bumblebee, my favorite. It's the Chevrolet Camaro from the Transformers series. It's my favorite car, and I didn't know that Jungkook Hyung would know my taste so well, it's amazing."
"How much does this cost?"
"I think it's about four hundred thousand or so on the market, so I didn't have the guts to keep it. Why don't you give it back to hyung for me?" Haruto might love cars, but he knew what he should and shouldn't take, especially because of the special relationship between his sister and Jungkook.
"Leave the car here, for now, don't drive it away just yet. I'll figure out what to do with it later."
"Okay."
"Noona, you've lost weight! Are you exhausted from work lately?" Haruto looked at Lisa, who had just got off her night shift, with hints of sympathy.
She had dark circles around her eyes and looked quite broken down from all the late nights, but she didn't even notice it herself.
"I'm fine, just take care of yourself. Have you been having headaches lately?"
"No."
"What about the medicine, are you still taking it?"
"I am, there are only two kinds left."
"Okay, keep taking it, it's good for your recovery."
"Noona, why don't you move back? Mom has nagged me about it several times; she says that renting outside costs a lot for you, and it would be better if you just come back and live at home. I know that she wants you back, not because it saves money, but because it would be great if all three of us lived together."
"Let's talk about this later, I'm heading back now, call me if you need anything." She didn't stay long and drove home soon after.
After she cleaned up, she took a nap until evening, when she was awakened by the sound of the door opening.
"Did you arrange for Haruto's car to be delivered?" she asked impatiently as Jungkook entered.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you run it by me?"
"I told you already," Jungkook said nonchalantly...
The fact was, he really did mention it once before, but Lisa never agreed to it.
"But I never agreed."
"It's not for you, so does your agreement matter so much?"
Huo Mian, "-_-"
Lisa sighed slightly and sat down beside Jungkook, "You can't do this. He's only a student, you can't spoil him."
"I wasn't spoiling him, that's why I picked such an inexpensive car. If I was really spoiling him, I would've bought him a Porsche."
"Kook…" Just as Lisa said one word, Jungkook raised his head to stare at her with an upset look.
She immediately changed her tone, "Honey, you're really going to spoil him rotten."
"He's your brother, which means he's also my brother. What's wrong with spoiling him?"
Clearly, if one man got his way, he would do anything he liked, but Lisa understood Jungkook's way of "love her, love her family" mentality thoroughly.
"But your methods will make him think that he'll just get things without working for them."
"Then he won't have to work for them. Plus, we don't need him to work after he graduates, he can do whatever he wants. Just let him."
"You can't do that, he's a man, and he has to have a sense of responsibility."
"You know your brother's personality better than I do. That child is innocent and kind, nothing will happen to him just because of a car. Don't get crazy ideas."
"But…" Lisa wanted to say something else, but she was cut off by Jungkook.
"I'm hungry. Doll, can you make me some dinner?"
Jungkook looked at Lisa, and she finally admitted defeat...
She ran to the kitchen, and Jungkook smiled in victory. He was very good at changing the subject.
During dinner, Lisa said casually, "Haruto mentioned that he wants me to move back with them today."
"So that little kid is paying back my kindness with vengeance?" Jungkook's face turned grim. His brother-in-law just took his car, and now he wants to steal his wife back? Seriously?
"What do you mean? Ruto doesn't even know that we're married, he thinks that I was renting alone and is quite worried about me."
"So I think that you should tell him when you get a chance, or else he will suddenly come up with other ideas later on."
Lisa laughed because she knew what Jungkook was talking about…
"But I still think the car…"
"You siblings could figure out the car yourselves. If you think that it's too luxurious, you're welcome to switch cars with him."
Lisa immediately stopped talking. She already thought that a Sedan was luxurious enough for her, so how could she switch to a yellow sports car?
The nurses at South Side would talk about her until their spit drowned her. By then, they would definitely think that she found herself a sugar daddy if she were to switch to a new car.
So she might as well not discuss Haruto's new car with Jungkook anymore.
However, if Jungkook wasn't worried that Lisa would be unhappy, he would have happily given Haruto a Porsche.
Otherwise, if someone were to find out that his brother-in-law drove a car that was only a few hundred thousand worth, wouldn't he feel embarrassed?
Yes, he would have to slowly convince Lisa into getting Haruto another car.
Next time, he would do more research. First, he needed to find his wife another car, or else he would feel very uncomfortable every time he saw Lisa's Sedan.
After dinner, Lisa took a shower and got into bed…
She had been staying up too late recently and never slept well. As a result, the dark circles around her eyes were becoming increasingly obvious.
She walked over to the washroom cabinet and put on the eye cream Jungkook previously prepared for her.
Finally, she lied down in bed…
Jungkook worked quite late in his study, and, after he arrived at Lisa's bedroom, he was surprised to see Lisa was still awake.
She was watching a variety show on her phone.
"You didn't sleep yet?"
"No, I slept too much during the day."
"Your circadian rhythm is completely messed up." Jungkook felt sympathetic, and then he got onto the bed and naturally placed his arm around Lisa's shoulders.
"You finished working? You must be exhausted."
"I've gotten used to it, it's just work."
"You haven't been back to your parents house recently, so won't your parents be upset?" Lisa asked carefully.
"If I go, then you'll be home alone, and I'll be worried. It's fine if I just visit for dinner occasionally," Jungkook said as he gently brushed Lisa's hair.
"If time turned back to seven years ago, would you still choose to meet me?" Lisa suddenly asked in sorrow.
Jungkook thought for a moment, and replied with conviction, "If time turns back to seven years ago, then I would apply for a visa a week earlier than I did, and the two of us would go to the States together. That way, we wouldn't miss out on seven years."
For Jungkook, being away from Lisa for those seven years was the biggest regret in his life.
Lisa dug her head into Jungkook's chest, not knowing what to say…
She felt sad but also moved…
"What about you? If time turned back, would you still want to date me?" Jungkook suddenly asked without much confidence.
He was somewhat worried about Lisa's reply…
If they were to go back, and if she hadn't dated him, then Lisa's stepfather wouldn't have died.
Maybe Lisa would still be living in a happy family of four.
Lisa tightened her grip around Jungkook's waist, and after a moment, she said, "I've never regretted anything I've done in the past, even if I knew it was doomed to begin with. If time turned back, I would still go along with what I believed in back then. I believe that it's not a coincidence that you showed up in front of me amongst the sea of people. It was fate, our fate."
Jungkook didn't say anything after he heard what she said; instead, he embraced Lisa tightly…
It was an early fall night, and they held each other ever so tightly as if they were afraid of losing each other.
Some things might be fine if you never had it, but what is terrifying is losing what you once had.
Lisa suddenly realized that if she was forced to leave Jungkook one day, she might die of heartbreak…
She wanted him so badly in her life, and to be able to be by his side her entire life….
*
Lisa went to work the next day, and several nurses surrounded her with odd smiles.
"What's with you guys? Is there something wrong?" Lisa was confused.
"Congratulations on the promotion, Lisa. Dinner is on you!" One of the nurses smiled.
"Promotion?" Lisa was puzzled.
"Oh right, you don't know about it yet? We heard about it already, looks like your news really isn't up to date."
"Uhm… I really didn't know."
Lisa rarely paid attention to the gossip around the hospital. She only focuses on the patients in her area, so it was understandable that her news wasn't up to date.
"Be careful though, Sana - the nurse on the other shift, might be really pissed off. She applied for the promotion several times and never got it. Now that you've been promoted all of a sudden, she will definitely be pissed off at you."
"Yea, Sana is different from Soojin. Soojin only wants money and a rich husband, so she never planned to stay around at the hospital. Sana values power and status, and she had always wanted to seize opportunities to rise up among the ranks, so you should be careful."
Afterward, the few nurses giggled and left…
The truth was, Lisa didn't know them too well; however, their departments were close by, so she would occasionally go over to help.
Only Haein, Sana, and soojin worked at the Orthopaedics Department.
After Haein was wounded, a nurse from another department was transferred over to take her place. She didn't talk a lot and hadn't really interacted with Lisa yet.
As she was immersed in her thoughts, the head nurse, suddenly walked over, "Lisa, come with me."
- Inside the department office -
"Lisa, you must have heard about your promotion already, the hospital will release an official announcement at noon."
"Promotion?" Lisa was still somewhat confused.
"Yes, you're now the head nurse of the Orthopaedic Department."
"What about you?" Lisa was surprised.
Head nurse laughed. "I've been transferred to the Finance Department to act as their new director."
"That's great, congratulations!"
"Thanks," Head nurse seemed to be happy as well.
"There are two reasons for your promotion. First, the patients you took care of all made the recommendation, which meant that the grandpa in room #2 said plenty of good things about you, and even though young master Park didn't say much, he did give you an 'A' on your performance report. It seems that he's quite satisfied with you. Your performance has been exceptional over the days you've been here, and I also gave you an 'A'. But most importantly, it was because of Director Jung's recommendation that you were promoted so soon."
"Director Jung?"
"Yes, Director Jung seems to value you quite highly. After your promotion, you'll be the head nurse of our department, and I trust you to do a good job. Your paycheck will be twice the amount you get now, with lots of other benefits, so… do a good job, okay?"
"Thanks, Head Nurse. Oops, I meant thank you, Director Song," Lisa smiled as she scratched her head.
Head nurse should have been transferred away a long time ago, but no one was able to take over her position yet.
Now that Lisa was here, she felt reassured, or else she really wouldn't trust leaving her work to those unreliable girls.
"Sana might be angry, so please be considerate of her feelings," reminded head nurse.
"I understand."
"Very good then, off to work you go. I'm rooting for you."
Lisa felt a bit perplexed as she walked out of the office. She hadn't had the chance to see Director Jung after she saved Krystal.
She was surprised about her sudden promotion, but even though it wasn't a great position, it was still rare for a 24-year-old young woman like Lisa to become the head nurse at a top-notch hospital.
At the on-call station, Sana was speaking with the other nurses. When she saw Lisa come her way, she sneered, "Congratulations on your promotion."
"Thanks."
"Things sure are different after taking care of Young Master Park, it must be nice when there's someone looking out for you."
"What do you mean by that, Sana?" Lisa smiled.
"You don't know what I mean? Why are you still pretending? The entire hospital knows about you and Young Master Park. Lisa, you're good, there are so many pretty girls at our hospital, but you're the lucky one that Mr. Park laid his eyes on."
"So you're now jealous of me?" Lisa asked Sana as she looked at her.
"I'm just confused, since you are already with Young Master Park, why are you still here at South Side? Shouldn't you be living your luxurious life? The head nurse position is such a pity for you, shouldn't you be the young Mrs. Park by now?"
The other few nurses giggled after hearing what Sana said.
"But I just like being a head nurse at South Side, I think this position… suits me well," Lisa stared into Sana's eyes as she spoke, enunciating every word.