"Don't worry, I didn't investigate you. I found out by chance, anyways... I'm very interested in you."
"So?"
"So... you have to be friends with me," Jennie said domineeringly.
"You say it as if I'm not allowed to choose. Are you threatening me?" Lisa smiled.
"Of course it's a threat, you must be friends with me."
"Why?"
"Because I like being friends with people who are just as smart as me."
"Miss Kim, you're really not modest at all."
"Why should I be modest? I'm smart, that's the truth."
"Uhm... okay."
"So, have you agreed?" Jennie looked at Lisa, looking forward to her answer.
"Ya." Lisa nodded.
Then, she saw Jennie take something out from her bag and place it on the table.
"This is for you, as my first friend in 25 years."
Snap... Lisa was shocked. First friend in 25 years? What kind of person was she?
"You don't need to give me anything... and you don't need to be so polite."
"No, take it. I rarely give others gifts, and I've come with a purpose today, and that's to be friends with you, so I prepared a gift."
Lisa slowly picked up the pretty box. As she opened it, she saw that it was a Swarovski brooch.
It was in the shape of a beautiful butterfly with crystal-plated wings.
It looked quite expensive...
"This... is too much."
"Good faith can't be judged by the price. Do you know why I like butterflies?" Jennie asked.
Lisa was silent for a moment, and then she said, "I think it's because you admire them. Butterflies go through the painful process of evolving from a caterpillar to butterfly, but as long as it persists, it will one day break from its shell."
Jennie looked at Lisa with great shock after she heard what the latter said, "I can't believe you analyzed me so correctly. I've liked butterflies since I was a little girl, and my family and colleagues all thought that I only liked them because they were pretty, but that's not the reason. Butterflies are very ugly when they're caterpillars, and they move very slowly. Other bugs frown upon them because they look so insignificant... but they persevere. No matter how you treat them or mock them, they will still survive metamorphosis to finally become a beautiful creature."
"You have a unique personality," Lisa exclaimed.
"Don't mix up my attitude with my personality. My personality comes from who I am as a person, but my attitude is based on who you are."
"Uhm... you have a point, I actually have nothing to say to that."
Lisa suddenly noticed that not only did Jennie have a high EQ, she was also good with words.
Even Lisa, who liked to throw around Chicken Soup for the Soul quotes, had to admit defeat in front of her....
Just then, Jennie looked at her watch, "It's time, I have other things to tend to, so I'll be going now. Let's get dinner in a few days."
"Okay."
Just as Jennie stood up to leave...
Lisa suddenly thought of something, and she shouted, "Wait."
Jennie turned around...
Lisa took out a box of Longjing tea and handed it to her. "Here, consider this as a gift for my new friend."
Jennie froze for a second, and then she accepted the tea with a smile on her face.
After Jennie left, Lisa wrapped up the brooch and placed it into her bag. Jennie was truly a very strange girl.
However oddly enough, Lisa liked her very much. Maybe Director Jung was right, maybe they were similar people.
When she saw Jennie and how arrogant she was just now, it reminded her of herself, 7 years ago...
Just then, Lisa's cellphone rang...
She saw that caller ID; it was from Sehun...
Lisa hesitated for few seconds before finally picking up...
"Hello?"
"Lisa, did you find out about what happened in Japan?"
"Yes, I did."
"Jungkook went there, didn't he?"
"What are you trying to get from me?" Lisa felt a bit bothered.
"I'm not trying to get information from you. I just want to say that if something happens over there, then the new company opening the day after tomorrow might be doomed."
"It won't, I saw the live broadcast. He already said he's not pushing the date back."
"That's because Jimin still hasn't attacked yet. If Jimin launches his big attack, then Jungkook is screwed."
"Jimin's big attack?" Lisa was confused.
"Do you know why Jungkook decided to establish a film and television company?" Sehun chuckled.
Lisa didn't say anything, because she really did know...
"On the surface, Jimin seems to only know how to eat, drink and play, but BigHit's success isn't coincidental. With Jungkook overwhelmed in work, if Jimin launches his big attack, then there's a great possibility... that JC would lose miserably."
"It won't, I believe that Jungkook has a plan to deal with that."
"Lisa, even if Jungkook has plans in place, he is still a person, not a god. He can't split his body in two. If something happens over here, then he won't be able to make it back on time, plus... I think Jimin had something to do with the incident in Japan."
"Are you suspecting that he had something to do with this?" Lisa was surprised.
"It's a possibility. When two companies are competing, there are plenty of dirty tactics people will use. If Jungkook is busy now, then, of course, Jimin would be the biggest winner, just think about it."
"That's impossible, Jimin isn't someone who would disregard human life."
Even if Jimin was incredibly ridiculous and silly, Lisa knew that he still wouldn't let all those people die just so he could beat Jungkook this once.
Who would be terrible enough to do something like that...
"Nothing is impossible, Lisa. Some people aren't as nice as they look on the surface, and you shouldn't be so naive. I only wanted to call you to warn you, you should take care of yourself."
After Sehun finished speaking, he hung up...
Once again, Lisa's mind was thrown into disarray...
She thought back and forth and still decided to ask Jimin...
So, she logged onto Instagram and sent a private message to Jimin, "Are you there?"
"Forever and always," he immediately replied.
"I want to ask you something, can you tell me the truth?"
"Ask."
"Did you have anything to do with the accident in Japan?"
Lisa waited for an answer, but Jimin didn't say anything...
She thought that her question might have hurt him...
"Are you suspecting me?" Jimin smiled bitterly as he looked at her question on his cellphone.
"I just wanted to hear it from you."
"If I said no, and that it had nothing to do with me, would you believe me?" Jimim asked in all seriousness.
"I will believe you. If you say that it wasn't you, then I'll believe it."
"It wasn't me, it had nothing to do with me. Even though I very much want to beat Jungkook, I want to beat him fair and square, and will never do such a harmful and immoral thing."
"Okay, I got it."
Then, Lisa no longer spoke...
Jimin thought for a moment, and then he sent her another message, "If I use my own way to cripple JC's new company opening the day after tomorrow, will you hate me for it?"
"I won't, this fight is between you guys. As long as you don't break moral standards, I have no reason to hate you."
Lisa's response was very straightforward...
Jimin also relaxed; he felt like he no longer had anything to worry about...
The truth was, he was glad that Lisa asked him herself, rather than believe the rumors about it from other people.
This was enough to prove that Lisa thought of him as a person with good morals, wasn't it?
Five seconds later, Jimin posted a new update on Instagram with just a picture of a coffee cup that he was drinking...
"I'm so grateful that you believe the 'me' in your eyes, and not the 'me' from others' mouths."
After he posted this, it was commented over 10,000 times, liked over 50,000 times, and shared over 20,000 times within three minutes.
"Wow, marry me, hubby."
"Take me home, Young Master Park."
"Young Master Park, I want to have your babies."
"Young Master Park, you haven't updated Instagram in a while, is it because that you've got a new girlfriend? Tell us about it."
"Young Master is great and mighty, whoever hurts him must die."
Fans all poured beneath Jimin's Instagram, and the comments immediately engulfed the space.
–Japan –
Jungkook worked all morning, and during lunch, he sat in a fast food restaurant with Assistant Lee across from him.
"Fly back to Seoul later, you need to make preparations for the opening of the new company tomorrow."
"What about you, sir? Aren't you coming back with me?" Assistant Lee slightly froze.
"I can't go back, things have gotten very complicated here. If I leave, then no one will be here to control the situation."
"But I can't do it alone, Sir. What if Mr. Jimin launches an attack tomorrow...?"
"We'll just have to deal with his attacks as they come."
"Uhm..."
"Have those people signed a contract in the end?" Jungkook asked.
"No, just letters of intention, they said that they'll sign the actual contract tomorrow morning."
"Okay, I got it."
"Is there a problem, sir?"
"They might be waiting until tomorrow to stand us up..."
"Ah? That can't be, even if they only signed letters of intent, they still have to pay a penalty if they break it."
"Do you think Jimin lacks that money?" asked Jungkook in response.
"Right..." Assistant Lee didn't have anything else to say, as his boss clearly took everything into account.
"Didn't Miss Joy sign? We'll still have people to walk the red carpet, it's not like no one will be there."
"Yes, Miss Joy is an A-lister. As long as she's around, along with some B-list and C-list stars, they'll be enough to fill the space."
"So you can head back while I stay here."
"Yes sir." Assistant Lee was very impressed by his boss's intelligence.
Was he really 27 years old? He was so mature and collected in his actions and never panicked in the face of crisis. Most importantly, he had a plan B for everything he did.
He really was an exceptional strategist...
Since that was the case, then it would only be a matter of time before JC was ranked as one of the most successful businesses in the world...
Lisa was busy the entire day, and she was completely exhausted when she got off work.
Ever since Hospital Deputy Director and his brother-in-law was imprisoned, South Side was more peaceful than ever.
It was as if everything changed, and everyone's moods seemed to have gotten better...
More and more people looked at Lisa with admiration in their eyes...
She was like a heroine who got rid of a long-infested pest that was Deputy Director.
After leaving the hospital, Lisa took the overpass, heading straight to the South Hill Manor.
– At an intersection –
A black Lamborghini stopped by the side of the road...
"Ahem... I don't think she'll take this road today, she might have gone to South Hill," said Taehyung.
Jimin didn't say anything, and he continued to wait for another ten or so minutes...
Whenever he missed Lisa, he would quietly wait by the side of the road and wait for her to drive past him.
Since the completion of South Hill Manor, Lisa sometimes wouldn't take this path anymore...
So Jimin often waited around for nothing...
"I don't get it, if you miss her, then why don't you just go find her? When did you become so weak and indecisive?"
"Have you heard of that saying?"
"What?" Taehyung froze.
"'To like is to run wild, to love is to restrain.' After my feelings for her deepened, I find it harder and harder to be careless. I learned to restrain myself for her sake. After all, I don't want my single-sided adoration to bring her trouble."
"Whoa... you make yourself sound so noble and grand." Taehyung was shocked.
"Let's go drink tea."
"Tea, not alcohol?"
"I suddenly realized how good Longjing tea tastes..."
Taehyung , "-_-"
When Lisa arrived at the mansion, she received a call from Jungkook, and her spirits immediately lit up.
"Doll, did you get home?"
"Yes, I just did. How are things over there?"
"Everything's going great." Jungkook only ever told her good things.
"That's great! When are you coming back?" Losa suddenly realized that Jungkook had never spent more than two days away from home before.
She missed him so much, it felt as if he had left for several days.
"Soon," Jungkook didn't give a definite answer
Just as Lisa was about to speak, she heard a man say on the other end of the line. "President Jeon, the government officials are here."
"Doll, I have to get back to work. Remember to eat and sleep on time."
"Kook..." Lisa called reluctantly.
"Yes?"
"I miss you so much," Lisa noticed that her nose was a bit hot when she said this, and she suddenly really wanted to cry.
Lisa's words immediately turned Jungkook's stress into a sea of gentleness...
"Doll, I'll be back very soon."
"Okay, take care of yourself."
"I will."
Even with his tight schedule, Jungkook still made the time to call Lisa every day.
Lisa once saw a saying on the Internet: 'If someone thinks about you, they will contact you regardless of how troubled and busy they are. If someone doesn't think about you, they will make up all sorts of excuse to say that they were busy and will refuse to come and find you.'
Even though Jungkook kept saying that everything was going very well and successfully...
Lisa wasn't dumb; how could things be going well under with the current situation?
He had to face the sad cries of the victims' family members, the pressure exerted by the government, the back-stabbing and mockery of those in the same industry, as well as the avoidance and blaming of those who caused this accident...
Jungkook had to face this massive mess alone...
At this moment, she regretted studying medicine during university.
If she majored in business, she could at least be able to help him at his company and help him deal with all this.
However, she couldn't do anything right now...
Lisa felt like her heart was breaking everytime Jungkook hid away his stress and told her that everything was okay.
Her Jungkook had always kept everything to himself, and quietly fought against all adversity...
–Japan –
After negotiating with the government officials, Jungkook became a bit stressed by the pressure they exerted.
He walked to the corner of the room and made a call.
"Namjoon."
"What do you need?" The owner of Seductive Fox was a man of fewer words than Jungkook.
"The roof collapsed because the construction team skimped out on materials and work. The person in charge of the construction escaped abroad a month ago because he already knew that something would happen. I've gotten someone to look into the border entry data, and he is currently in Chicago."
"I know what to do." Namjoon knew exactly what Jungkook meant.
"I want him alive, as soon as possible."
"Okay."
After Jungkook hung up, he walked up to the rooftop of the skyscraper...
He bent over, and watched as the people below passed by...
The scenery one saw at a very tall height was beautiful, but the danger of falling was just as high.
The four victims were all middle-aged men between the ages of 33 and 45.
They were all someone's father, or/and someone's son...
However, they faced a brutal death and were buried underneath steel and concrete, all because some immoral businessmen decided to skimp on resources and productions.
Weren't people supposed to be born kind? Since when did one's heart corrupt to this level?
How could they sacrifice someone's life for their own so-called wealth?
Jungkook didn't say anything when he saw those tormented family members, and he compensated each of them with an early stage compensation.
He would still pay them more money later on...
However, he knew that no matter how much money he gave them, he still wouldn't be able to give back their lives.
Sometimes, life was really precious...
Even if this incident wasn't his fault, he still wanted to compensate for it, because deep down, he and Lisa were the same.
He couldn't bear to see life and death, and he couldn't get over tragedies that had anything to do with him...
Just then, Jungkook's cell phone rang...
"President Jeon, I've found him. The person responsible for the construction, Sang Tae, is only a pawn. There is someone else behind this."
"I knew it." Jungkook knew that this wasn't as simple as just skimping on construction.
It seemed like there really was a filthy scheme behind this accident....
"We all thought that it might be your new competitor, Jimin, since he's currently our number one enemy."
Jungkook fell silent upon hearing Jimin's name...
"It isn't him. Even though we're competitors, he wouldn't do something like this."
Jungkook was very rational and wouldn't blatantly blame Jimin just because he was his business and somewhat love rival.
Jimin was born into the powerful Park family; with their education style and Jimim's status as an arrogant heir, he would never put other people's lives at stake to compete with Jungkook. Therefore, Jungkook was sure that the person behind the accident wasn't Jimin.
"We'll be fine as long as we catch Sang Tae. He probably knows everything."
"Yes, we'll catch him soon."
Jungkook nodded; he believed in Namjoon's style in dealing with things...
Namjoon's family was fairly powerful in America, so now all he had to do was wait quietly.
After Assistant Lee returned, he ran straight to JC headquarters to begin preparing for tomorrow's opening.
Originally, everything was all prepared, as he followed all of the president's orders.
However, something suddenly happened at 10 PM...
Joy had always had a messy private life, but nothing had ever been revealed, as only small rumors were passed around.
This time, a forum revealed three photos of Joy intimately hanging out with several men at nightclubs.
One photo was of her dancing with a man, face on face, on the dance floor.
Another one was of her wearing revealing clothing, holding a cigarette in her hand.
The last photo was of her sitting and grinding on a man's lap very intimately and disgracefully.
It was drastically different from her usual 'workaholic goddess' image on TV.
The men's faces were blurred out so no one knew who they were, but Joy's face was extremely recognizable.
It was clearly meant to throw dirt at her...
Joy was one of the most crucial guests to appear at the red carpet event tomorrow. Since news got out today, she definitely wouldn't be able to go on camera.
JC spent so much money signing her, but she was useless now...
As soon as he saw the news, Assistant Lee called Jungkook.
"Sir, did you see the news?" Assistant Lee was incredibly sad.
"I did."
"What should we do?"
"Go with the original plan." Jungkook remained very calm.
"What about Joy, she..."
"Tell her not to come and cancel her schedule. Then, tell her to take a vacation abroad to tide this over. She'll come back once the PR Department deals with everything."
"That works..." Assistant Lee nodded nervously.
They originally thought that this turbulence would end soon...
Who knew that the next day morning, with only two hours away from the opening, Assistant Lee received news that nearly made him throw up blood...
All the entertainers who signed the letters of intent breached them...
They all returned to Bigahit, including Mina and Lissa.
Money wasn't the issue, but it was such a slap on the face.
Joy would no longer appear on the red carpet, and if those people left as well, then only C-list stars would be left to walk the red carpet.
Then wouldn't everyone laugh at JC Film and Television for how much of a failure they were?
"Assistant Lee, what should we do?" The public relations manager was also dumbfounded.
"How would I know? We should ask the president."
Assistant Lee called the president's number, but sadly his cell phone was turned off.
"Oh no, we're really screwed this time." Assistant Lee was as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
"What's wrong?"
"The president's phone is off."
"Huh? Then what should we do?'
Assistant Lee wiped off his sweat and replied, "Don't worry, I'll call the Chairman. We'll have to rely on him now."
Assistant Lee called the Jeon Manor.
Mrs. Jeon picked up the phone.
"Chairman Jeon isn't home. He went golfing and didn't bring his cell phone with him."
"Mrs. Jeon, something terrible happened. If we don't find someone to take care of it, then we would be terribly humiliated. What should we do?'
"How would I know? If you can't reach my son, then call that woman of his. Isn't that woman super mighty and is capable of flying into the sky?" Mrs. Jeon said sourly.
"Oh, right, then I'll call the Young madam."
Thanks to Mrs. Jeon's reminder, Assistant Lee immediately looked up Lisa's cell phone number in the secretary office.
Then he called her...
"Hello?" Lisa woke up only a bit ago, and was just about to eat breakfast.
"Young Madam, I'm President Jeon's Assistant, Lee, a crisis came up at the company, and it's incredibly urgent. Can you come over to JC to help us?" Assistant Lee asked anxiously.
"Me?" Lisa slightly froze.
"Is that really appropriate? I'm his wife... shouldn't you ask Jungkook to deal with company issues?"
"But I couldn't get through to President Jeon's phone... His phone might be out of battery." Assistant Lee felt like crying.
"Then... what about the chairman?" asked Lisa nervously.
"The chairman isn't home, I just called. He went golfing and didn't bring his cell phone, so Mrs. Jeon told me to ask you."
"She told you to come and find me?" asked Lisa faintly.
"Yes."
"Okay, then wait for a bit. I'm heading over right away."
Lisa immediately packed up her things and rushed downstairs after she hung up the phone...
"Young Madam, you're not having breakfast?" asked Butler Uncle Li.
"No, Uncle Li, I've to get to the company right away. Sorry about all this, you guys enjoy it."
"Okay, then I'll let them know."
Lisa actually felt a bit bad, since the chefs and maids spent the morning making breakfast for her; it must have kept them busy the whole morning.
However, she just went down and announced that she wasn't having any.
Lisa got into her car, called in sick at South Side, and then drove to JC Headquarters, arriving in no more than twenty minutes.
She sped all the way and could be called the fastest head nurse ever...
– At JC Headquarters –
Assistant Lee personally went downstairs to pick Lisa up.
"Young Madam, follow me."
Lisa nodded and followed Assistant Lee into a conference room on the top floor.
There were eight or seven people in the conference room. There were executives for JC Film and Television, those from public relations, and executives who participated in the planning of today's event, including Yerim.
Assistant Lee pointed at Lisa and introduced her, "Allow me to introduce her, this is the president's wife, Lisa."
After Assistant Lee spoke, everyone was shocked aside from Yerim...
She only quietly looked at Lisa with an indifferent expression on her face...
"Young Madam," everyone greeted her.
Lisa nodded in acknowledgment. "Hi everyone, please sit."
Assistant Lee then took out a bunch of documents and placed it on the table as he anxiously said, "We don't have much time, so long story short. The president has been planning the new company's opening, and everything was in place, but... last night, Miss Joy's scandal was exposed, and she can no longer to walk the red carpet. The president made sure that she's not going to show up today. So, we've only got the stars who signed the letters of intention, but this morning, these stars all backed out of the contract. All of them returned to BigHit, and now we only have some not-yet-famous C-list stars, and no one to hold up the stage. We only have two hours left until before the opening ceremony, and everyone will be watching, but as of right now, we haven't got any stars to walk the red carpet. Not only would JC be laughed at, it will also hinder our president's reputation. However, I lost contact with President Jeon half an hour ago, so under this urgent situation, I've asked the Young Madam to come and help us come up with ideas. Everyone can pitch in as well, let's all think of a solution together."
After Assistant Lee spoke, everyone fell silent; they looked down, each with frowns on their faces...
Who could possibly come up with a good idea at a time like this?
Yerim spoke first, "I signed miss Joy, the only person who signed a real contract. Only BigHit would be able to expose the scandal last night, so it's obvious that Mr. Jimin isn't an upright figure for attacking us at a time like this. We should hire some people to discredit BigHit and Jimin on social media platforms. What do you think?"