"Why? You don't like them?"
"It depends on who's sending the flowers. Jimin, you're the official heir of the Park Family, stop doing these weird things that will hinder your reputation, okay? What's the matter with you? Why won't you leave me alone? You're severely disturbing my personal and work life, please stop!"
"Lisa, I'm sending you flowers because I like it." Jimin wanted to tell her it was because he liked her, but in the end, he couldn't confess.
Even though he knew 100% that he was falling for Lisa, he was still slightly embarrassed to confess his feelings so straightforwardly.
"So I should like receiving flowers because you like to send them? What's wrong with you! If you don't stop, I'm going to key your goddamn Lamborghini."
"Oh please, come and key any shape you like." Jimin chuckled even happier.
"Ugh! You're so annoying!" Lisa hung up the phone angrily.
Jimin was able to dig up much more information about Lisa, including her childhood, ever since Jungkook's people stopped shielding away the information.
It was only then that he found out Lis was a child prodigy, and that she was a very smart and intelligent individual with a high IQ and EQ.
It was her relationship with Jungkook that stirred up much sensation. Eventually, the misfortune brought on to her family led her to forgo the bright future that she was promised.
No wonder Lisa was so medically skilled. She was a medical genius who was meant to do great things, but reality suppressed her into nothing more than a nurse.
He also found out that Anna's Ramen was one of Lisa's favorite restaurants when she was going to school.
Lisa's best friend was Chaeyoung, and she is her only friend after all these years.
Lisa has a mother who lives in a poor locality, and she runs a convenience store for a living.
Lisa has a little brother who was going to a local university, and she loves him dearly.
Lisa liked to wear simple and elegant clothes, and she didn't like to wear makeup.Her go-to hairstyle was either a ponytail or a messy bun, but most of the time, she wore her hair down.
Lisa also had an ex-boyfriend that was an ophthalmologist.They've broken up, and he was now married.
Lisa was the most popular kid in class, because of her looks, and also because of her personality.
He realized that the more he knew about her, the deeper he fell for her. He was so interested in everything about her.
Yesterday, he didn't just go to Anna's Ramen to taste the noodles, he was having a taste of the years where he was absent during Lisa's youth.
He wanted to walk the roads she walked, speak to the people that she spoke to, and have a feel of the crazy things that she had done in the past...
Holy shit, when did I become such an emotional and artsy douche? Jimin thought to himself alarmingly.
Jimin's actions made Lisa's head throb. He liked doing very immature things.
Like intentionally rear-ending her...
Like sending her greasy food as a midnight snack...
Like filling her office with countless roses in the morning...
He surely thought those gestures were romantic, but to Lisa, he was just being unbelievably immature.
Lisa stared at the rose-covered floors and couldn't stand it anymore, "Can you guys help me throw out all these flowers?" She asked help from other nurses.
"What? That's such a waste!"
"Then send every department a batch of flowers, and say it's a gift from South Side," Lisa ordered.
Lisa's phone began ringing before the nurses could say anything. It was a video call coming from Jungkook.
"Hello,." Lisa closed her office door since she was video-chatting.
"Are you busy?"
"Not yet, I just got here, but I do have a lot of documents that I need to organize."
"I forgot to make you ginger and brown-sugar-water this one morning, I'll ask someone to send you some later."
"It's okay, I have some at the office, I can make myself a cup." Lisa smiled.
"Why are there so many flowers behind you?" Jungkook suddenly noticed the sea of flowers behind her.
"Hm It's a gift from South Side, and it will be sent to each department and clinic in a bit."
"Your hospital gave you guys red roses as gifts?" Jungkook asked sharply.
"Hm... our hospital director has an exquisite taste." Lisa laughed awkwardly.
Jungkook knew how Lisa felt about Jimin, so he stopped asking as he was not worried.
"When do you get off work today?"
"I'm not sure yet, I took three days off, so there's quite a bit of work piled up." Lisa's head throbbed as she stared at the pile of reports.
"Let's eat together if you get off early."
"Okay." Lisa nodded.
"Remember to drink some ginger and brown-sugarwater," Jungkook reminded her with much seriousness in his voice.
"Yes Mom..." Jungkook was often a miser with words, but when it came to Lisa, he always managed to become a nagging mother. Lisa was speechless.
The two of them got busy with their own work after hanging up.
In the afternoon, Lisa received a notice from the Finance Department that the Engineering Department will be using money from the Oh Foundation to service the hospital's back garden.
Lisa immediately took off her lab coat and headed towards the Engineering Department.
The director of the Engineering Department, was said to be Deputy Director's brother-in-law. He was a man that abused his power and bullied others, and he was a rather arrogant person.
Rumor had it that he would frequently use public funds for himself. Deputy Director usually looked the other way since the amount was never too large.
In terms of other people in the hospital, they were much too afraid to displease the deputy director, and so, no one would ever escalate the matter to Director Jung.
"Director?" Lisa knocked on the door.
"Oh hey, Lisa, come in!" Engineering department's director appeared extra welcoming when he saw Lisa.
"I just received notice from the Finance Department that you will be using three million from the Oh Foundation to service the hospital's back garden?" Lisa said as soon as she walked in, without wasting a single second.
"Yes! That's correct. It was an emergency, so I didn't have the chance to tell you yet. According to the regular process, I should speak to you first since you're currently the chairman of the Oh Foundation."
"Sorry, Director, but that fund hasn't passed through me yet. Any funding from the Oh Foundation requires signature directly from either Mr. Sehun or me. Did the Finance Department not mention it to you?"
"Oh yes, they did, and it's good that you're here then! You can sign right here." He actually had the face to ask.
"I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding. I'm not in agreement to approve the funding for this backyard service, so I can't provide you with the money."
"Why not? Wasn't the Oh Foundation established to contribute to our hospital? It's not like I'm using it for myself. Have you seen what the back garden looks like? It needs to be completely replaced, look at the grass, and the pavilions and bridges and how worn down they are. The industry will laugh at us if we are offering our patients such a terrible environment."
Lisa waved her hand and immediately interrupted him, "You're still misunderstanding the situation. The Oh Foundation is a non-profit organization funded by Mr. Sehun. It's intended to help patients who live around here that can't afford the down payment and is not intended to service the hospital. We're a public hospital, and every year the government will provide funding for maintenance. So, you should be requesting funding from the deputy director, not from the Oh Foundation."
"I know that, but my brother-in-law is out of town on a business trip right now. Who am I supposed to go to for funding then? How about this, why don't you sign first, and we can pretend that you're lending me the money. I will pay you back once my brother-in-law comes back."
"Sorry, I can't do that. These are different matters, and I don't think servicing the back garden can be considered an emergency.?It's barely worth any mentioning compared to saving lives."
"Lisa, it's wrong of you to say something like that. You must be new here, right? I've been working here for almost seven years. There's something that you should know, by being a convenience to others, you are also bringing convenience to yourself. There's no advantage for you to go against me." He threatened as he realized that Lisa had no intention of approving the funds.
Lisa chuckled slightly. "I've never heard of that before. But you know, whether I want to be a convenience is up to me. As the chairman of the Oh Foundation, it's up to me how each penny is spent. How about this, why don't you go directly to Mr. Sehun and ask him yourself? If he approves the funding, then I will surely support it."
"Now you're just giving me a hard time. It's not like I know Mr. Sehun personally," he said. A big shot like Sehun was someone even his brother-in-law had to pay the utmost respects to; he wouldn't even have the chance to utter a sound.
"If that's the case, then perhaps Director you should stop giving the Finance Department such a hard time. This is a done deal." Lisa turned around and walked out after she finished speaking.
The director smacked his palm onto the table and muttered, "You think you're a big shot, bitch? You're nothing more than a bastard child from the Oh Family. You better watch yourself or I will fucking show you what's up."
In the end, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to use funding from the Oh Foundation. Not only that, but he was also criticized by Lisa , so he surely wasn't too happy about that.
Lisa didn't think she made the wrong decision. It was true that the money came from Sehun, but it was also her responsibility to determine what the money is being used on.
The funding was supposed to be used for a good purpose, so she was rather speechless that the director wanted to use the money to service South Side's back garden.
"Head Nurse, you totally did the right thing this time. Somebody needs to show that arrogant director what's up. You have no idea how bad of a person he is. Not only does he like to use public funding for himself, but he's also always sexually harassing the nurses. It's disgusting."
The nurses were extremely happy that Lisa gave that director a hard time...
"I'm just sticking to the issue itself. I need to know where the money is going to make sure it is going to the right place. If not, what's the point of this foundation? I won't allow anyone to misuse the funds."
Lisa was obstinate and hard-headed, almost a little to the extreme. Regardless of what it was, as long as she made a decision she would always stick to it. She was as stubborn as a mule.
She didn't think much of the fact that she had offended the deputy director's brother-in-law. After all, during the big meeting, she had also challenged the deputy director himself.
If she didn't mind offending the deputy director, would she be bothered by offending his brother-in-law, the engineering department's director?
If she was, then she would not be Lisa.
Lisa's phone remained silent all afternoon, and she didn't receive a single message from Jungkook.
She had an uncomfortable feeling that perhaps Jungkook was a little mad at her. Being the clever person that he was, he would for sure know where the roses came from.
She also lied, was that why he was mad at her?
She thought about it for a while and even picked up the phone, wanting to send him a message. But eventually, she ended up putting her phone down.
It's not like she did anything. She didn't want to tell the truth because she didn't want to fight with him. Was she supposed to tell Jungkook that Jimin was courting her, and that was why he gave her roses? Wouldn't Jungkook be even angrier? Lisa thought to herself.
Lisa got off work at around six o'clock, and with the traffic, she got home at twenty past seven.
Jungkook wasn't home. Perhaps autumn was coming, but the house felt cold.
She turned on the lights and changed her shoes. She then sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV while she waited for Jungkook to come home to have dinner with her.
There wasn't any food in the fridge, so she was going to order a fruit pizza on her phone.
Right at this moment, Haruto's call came in.
"Ruto."
"Noona, are you off work?"
"Yup, I just got home. What's up?"
"Noona... I have something to tell you, but please stay calm," Haruto spoke indecisively.
"What's wrong?" Lisa felt an uncomfortable feeling stir up in her stomach.
"Mom fainted, she's at the Asan medical center receiving treatment."
"What?" Lisa panicked, hung up the phone, changed, and drove straight to the Hospital.
– Outside the OR –
Lisa saw Haruto, whose face was filled with worry. "Ruto, what happened to mom? Did she fall?"
"No." Haruto shook his head.
"Then what is it?"
"It was hyung....Jungkook hyung..."
"What's wrong with Jungkook?" Lisa felt even more nervous when she heard that whatever happened was related to Jungkook.
Haruto's head hung low, and slowly he said, "Jungkook hyung's mother came to our house and said something to mom. Mom got really upset so they started arguing. Mom then fell when she was pushed by Mrs. Jeon's bodyguard."
"What?" Lisa's brows knitted tightly together. The more she heard, the more her heart sank.
Jungkook's mother, once again...
His mother had already done this seven years ago, and she had the audacity to do it again seven years later? Did they really think Lisa's family was so easily bullied?
"Haruto, did you see it with your own eyes?" Lisa wanted to confirm.
"No, I wasn't home. Auntie Song was at our house, so she called me and told me what happened. I came to the hospital straight from school."
Lisa remained silent... but her face took on a ghastly expression.
"Noona?"
"Yes?"
"I think perhaps Mom found out about you and Jungkook hyung. That is why she was so upset."
"Yeah." Lisa was using all her effort to stay level-headed.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Haruto asked quietly, as he didn't want to stress his sister out even more. But, on the other hand, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. He wanted to hold on to the secret and unravel it slowly to their mother, but alas, a piece of paper was never able to cover up a flame. However, the real question is – how did Jungkook's mother know? Why did she have to go to their home and cause trouble?
Did Jungkook tell his parents everything?
At the thought of this, Lisa felt an uncontrollable wave of rage...
"Where's Auntie Song?"
"Oh, she went out for water and should be back soon."
Within a minute or so, Auntie Song came back. She wore a flowery dress shirt with a pair of black pants and canvas flats.
"Auntie Song."
"Lisa, you're here."
"Auntie, what in the world happened?" Lisa asked immediately, as she wanted to know exactly how the incident unfolded.
Auntie Song's eyes glimmered, unknowing what to say...
"Auntie, tell me exactly what you saw. Don't hide anything from me, I will feel terrible. I don't even know how my mom is doing right now, I'm really worried."
"Lisa, are you back together with that Jeon family's son again?" Auntie Song asked profoundly and seriously.
Lisa didn't object, she remained silent in acceptance.
"I suppose Mrs. Jeon wasn't wrong then. She came to your house this afternoon when I was cross stitching with your mom. She was very angry and said a lot of unbearable things. She called your mom a whore and said she had raised a slut to seduce her son. It was terrible. Your mom didn't believe her and they began arguing. You know how your mom is like, she was angry, so she went up to try and push Mrs. Jeon. But, the big bodyguard behind her ran up and pushed your mom. Your mom slipped and fell, but Mrs. Jeon said that your mom was intentionally pretending to be hurt, and she ended up driving away. Your mom looked like she had injured herself pretty badly, so I drove her to the hospital. She's still in surgery, I wonder if she's okay."
Lisa's heart felt even heavier upon hearing what Auntie Song said...
The tragedy from seven years ago was playing itself out again. She brought misfortune onto her family again because she got back together with Jungkook.
Tears began strolling down her face. She had no words and just wished that it was her inside the OR.
"Noona, don't give yourself a hard time. I believe that Mom will be alright." Haruto walked up and wiped away his sister's tears with a tissue.
"Lisa, I'm not trying to nag you, but you could've dated anyone! Why did you have to walk down the same path? You know very well what kind of people the Jeons are. They are billionaires who can crush you like a bug! How can you be so foolish?" Auntie Song blamed her.
Lisa said nothing as tears continued rolling down her cheeks...
"Auntie Song, it is what it is, we can't change anything. You can't just blame my sis, it's not like she can predict the future. She would never want Mom to end up like this. What you are saying is only making her feel worse," Haruto interjected.
"You have a point, I won't say much then. But, you're old enough now. Think it through yourself." Auntie Song turned her head and looked at Lisa no more.
"Ruto, was I wrong again?" Lisa looked up and asked her little brother, tears still streaming down her face.
"Noona, don't say that. I'm not blaming you, and no one is saying that it's your fault. Stop giving yourself a hard time. Let's just wait for Mom to wake up, okay?"
Lisa covered her face and nodded...
– Two hours later –
"Who's the patient's immediate family?" The OR door opened.
"I am." Lisa walked over.
"The patient's lumbar vertebrae is damaged and requires the usage of four steel nails. Did you guys want to use domestic ones or imported ones?"
"Is there a difference?" Haruto asked.
"Use imported ones, use imported for everything, even the medications."
"Okay, you can go and pay for the operation fee first then. Pay a hundred thousand first, and there may be more upcoming charges." The doctor turned back to the OR as he finished speaking.
"A hundred thousand? Are they robbing money?" Auntie Song complained.
She then grabbed Lisa by the arm and said, "Don't let the doctor bullshit you. The domestic parts and imported parts are identical, they're just trying to scam you."
"It's not the same, Auntie. I've worked at this hospital before. Even if it's the same medication, the results still vary depending on the manufacturer. My mom's health is the most important thing, I can always earn more money." Lisa then hurried downstairs to pay.
"It must be nice to be rich now. No wonder she didn't like my son, she's grabbed herself a money tree," Auntie Song said bitterly.
"Auntie, my sis didn't 'grab a money tree', she just got back together with her high school boyfriend, that's all. They're very much in love, and if it weren't for my dad's incident they would have gone abroad together. It's not my sister's fault." Haruto was very protective when it came to his sister.
He wouldn't tolerate anyone that spoke ill of his sister. He knows that his sister put a lot of effort into raising him up all these years.
She had done enough for the family and she shouldn't have to put up with these unjustifiable accusations anymore...
Lisa's phone rang as she was walking back upstairs after paying...
The call was from Jungkook. At a sensitive moment like this, seeing Jungkook's name raised a deep sense of guilt within her.
Without thinking, she hung up the phone...
Jungkook's call came in again.
She hung up again and then proceeded to turn off her phone...
"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service at the moment, please try again later."
Jungkook was a little surprised by the message. The call just went through a moment ago, did she turn off her phone after rejecting his call?
Was she in a meeting? Or did she run out of battery? Jungkook wondered to himself.
The attending doctor was speaking to Haruto by the time Lisa got back to the OR entrance.
"What's wrong?"
"Noona, the doctor said Mom needs a blood transfusion, but there isn't enough inventory. It will take too long to have them transfer over the blood bags. Good thing we're both here, we can donate blood to Mom, it will save a lot of time."
"We can, where should we go to donate?" Lisa asked.
"The clinic over there, the nurse will assist you in drawing blood."
Lisa and Haruto walked over to the clinic next to them...
"Hi, we would like to draw blood for my mother's surgery."
"Do you know the standards for donating blood? You must have not given birth within the last year, or have anemia or any contagious diseases. You can't donate if you have a cold. Also, you can't donate blood if you've had surgery recently, or if you have cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and coronary disease. Finally, you can't have donated blood recently." The nurse fired out all the conditions in a row.
"I just had some medication for the common cold yesterday, is that okay?" Haruto smacked his head.
"No," the nurse said strictly.
"Ruto, why don't you go wait by the entrance, I will handle it. I'm qualified." As a health provider, Lisa knew the standards. She sat down and waited for the nurse while Haruto walked back to the OR entrance appearing deflated.
"Do you know your blood type?" The nurse asked as she wrapped the rubber band around Lisa's arm.
"Yes, I'm AB type," Lisa said confidently.
"AB? The patient profile I have here shows that the patient is blood type B," said the nurse, surprised.
Lisa looked slightly startled, "That's impossible, can you double check?"