"I'm not Mr. Answers, stop asking me what I think," Jimin teased as he played with his phone.
"This girl Lisa's road to marrying rich has been met with so many obstacles... This mother-in-law is going to be hard to handle. Even your mom is easier going than she is."
"That's for sure... my mom said that as long as I can find someone to give her a grandchild, I can do whatever I want. She doesn't even care if I end up with a man."
"Hahah... your mom is so open-minded. The Jeon Family may have a giant business, but they're still some ways away from the Park family. After all, your grandfather was an army commander... but still, your family is really easy going. Even my family is stricter than yours, I envy you." Taehyung was telling the truth.
The Park Family 'free-range' raised their children...
Plus, Jimin was the only child of his generation, so everyone spoiled him to no end. Even if Jimin did things that were off track, the Park Family still wouldn't come out to stop him.
Of course, Jimin's grandfather did say that he could play and have all the fun he wanted to, but Jimin was not allowed to do anything that was against morals or harm the environment.
Therefore, aside from being known to recklessly spend money and hook up with girls, his overall reputation wasn't too bad...
Word of Mrs. Jeon's face-slapping interview of Jungkook and Lisa's secret marriage quickly got out...
When Jungkook went back to their bedroom, Lisa was already on their bed... playing a game on her phone.
She didn't seem to be at all affected by this interview...
"Doll..."
"Yeah?"
"Did you see the news?"
"What news?" Lisa carelessly asked as she played her game.
"My mom's exclusive interview." Jungkook was furious, so he said it while suppressing his anger.
"Oh, yeah, I did." Lisa was really calm about it; Mrs. Jeon had always despised her.
It would scare her more if Mrs. Jeon went on the interview and told the world how much she liked her.
Losa felt relieved that she hated her so straightforwardly and publicly...
"You're not mad?" Jungkook tested out the waters.
"Why would I be mad? Your mom's always been like that." Lisa smiled.
"I'm so sorry... I didn't think she would be this unreasonable. It's not like she's still a kid..." Jungkook walked up to Lisa and lifted her up from the bed, princess-style.
Lisa threw her phone onto their bed and wrapped her arms around Jungkook. She coyishly said, "So, how do you plan on making it up to me?"
"Does doing it twice tonight... count as making it up to you?" Jungkook smiled and looked at her gently.
"You pervert..."
Jungkook looked down and kissed her, stuffing Lisa's unfinished sentence back into her mouth...
Then, they engaged in endless passions...
Once Lisa was deep asleep after being completely exhausted with their activity, Jungkook calmly put on his jacket and went back to the Jeon Manor.
"Young Master, you're back?"
"Is my mom home?" Jungkook asked faintly.
"She just got home. She's upstairs."
"Okay."
Jungkook immediately went upstairs and opened the door to her parents' bedroom...
Mrs. Jeon was proudly talking to her husband...
She was surprised to see her son at home. "Kook, why didn't you let us know that you're coming home at this hour?"
"Mom... what do you think you were doing?" Jungkook frowned and said in a deep tone.
"I didn't do anything... what are you talking about?" Mrs. Jeon took off her scarf and asked insensibly.
"The fact is, Lisa and I are married."
"Me not liking her is a fact as well. What, you have a problem with that? Does the entire world have to like her just because you do?" Mrs. Jeon suddenly raised her voice and shrieked.
Jungkook's looked at his mother in disappointment upon hearing what she said...
"Mom... I originally thought that you were just mad in the heat of the moment and angry at me for keeping this secret from you. Even if you don't like her, she's still a member of our family. I can't believe you would ally with outsiders to expose our dirty laundry... It's fine if you don't care about my or Lisa's reputation, but how can you not think about what this might do to the company? You're so reckless."
"Of course I thought about the company's reputation, and if you were really thinking about the company, you shouldn't have married her. Don't lecture me, I may not know anything about managing a company, but at least I know that much." Mrs. Jeon hated that her son would always protect Lisa.
Therefore, she had a belly full of fury to vent and objected to everything her son said...
"Fine, if that's what you think, then I really have nothing else to say... before you wrap your head around things, I don't think we will be coming back to this home again." Then, Jungkook turned around to leave.
"Hey... stop right there!" No matter how Mrs. Jeon yelled, Jungkook was unwilling to stop.
"Young Master... I made sweet soup," the housekeeper stood below the stairs and said timidly.
"I don't want it."
With that, Jungkook left home with an indifferent expression on his face...
He basically declared that before he forgave his parents, he would never come back to the Jeon mansion.
"Why didn't you say something, are you mute? This is what you get for spoiling our son." Mrs. Jeon started venting her anger on her husband.
Mr. Jeon had reading glasses on and a history book in his hand. He was calmer than ever.
"I'm not the only one who spoiled our son. Plus, I didn't think he did anything wrong. He's done well to manage the company and dealt with the accident in Japan so well. I'm proud of him."
"So what, a successful career isn't everything... look at the kind of woman your prized son ended up marrying, huh? Open your eyes wide and take a good, long look!" Mrs. Jeon roared.
Mr. Jeon took off his reading glasses, looked at his wife, and asked, "What's so wrong about Lisa? Aside from the fact that she was born into an ordinary family and that she didn't go to a world-famous university, what's so bad about her?"
"Everything's bad about her! She's ugly and her temper's awful. Do you know how impolite she is to me?"
"You clawed her, so she clawed you. It's not like you've treated her so nicely in the past. Is she stupid? Why would she still be nice to you?" Mr. Jeon refuted.
"Fine... you guys are all standing against me, aren't you? Seriously, what kind of life is this."
"Han!" Mrs. Jeon shouted.
"Yes?"
"Tidy up the guest room, I'm sleeping there tonight..." Mrs. Jeon said as she headed out their bedroom.
"Um..." The housekeeper looked helplessly at Mr. Jeon.
"Let her be." Mr. Jeon was more than used to his wife's crazy rants.
He had endured her bad temper all these years. Now that she was older, she had taken it to the next level.
Not to mention how she tried to meddle with her son's love life... she basically face-slapped her own son in the face. This time, she had gone too far.
Mrs. Jeon's exposition tanked Lisa's reputation to some extent...
Both Chaeyoung and Haruto messaged Lisa, asking about what happened.
However, Lisa remained calm and didn't say much else.
The next morning, Lisa went to work like always...
The employees at South Side were all used to this because they were aware of Lisa's conduct. Those who liked to gossip discussed the incident amongst themselves.
None of the others, however, talked about what happened...
– At lunch –
Things took a turn into another direction...
Mr. Oh personally acknowledged Lisa in public to be a part of the Oh Family, and he claimed that he and Lisa's mother was in love back then and that she wasn't a mistress.
He stated that they broke up peacefully because of differences in personality and that Lisa had always been his daughter.
As for Mrs. Jeon's objections, Mr. Oh's response was, "I never ask about my children's relationships, I'm happy as long as she's happy. That's her prerogative. Everyone thinks their child is the best; Mrs. Jeon may think that my daughter isn't good enough for her son, but to me, Jungkook's not good enough for my daughter."
As soon as his remarks got out, it slapped Mrs. Jeon hard on the face... Then, all the major outlets began re-posting this on their websites.
Lisa never imagined that Mr. Oh would stand up for her as her father...
But, she wasn't happy...
This was because she knew that Mr. Oh never did anything that didn't benefit him. If he helped her, he would want something in return.
At around noon, her mother called her and asked her to go home for lunch.
Lisa glanced at the time; if she drove quickly, she would be able to make it back within two hours.
Therefore, she drove to her old house. Her mother made a table full of dishes, and Mr. Oh was there as well, by himself.
Her mother really didn't have any sentiments towards him, but since he stood up for their daughter today, she treated him somewhat nicely.
"Lisa, you're back." Mr. Oh got up with a smile on his face.
Lisa nodded...
"Come, eat, the food's going to go cold soon." Her mother passed her a bowl of rice.
"Next time if something like this happens, don't keep it to yourself, tell me. The Oh Family is influential in this city. If we said something, Mrs. Jeon wouldn't have been so brazen." Mr. Oh pretended to care.
While her mother went to pour them soup, Lisa asked in a low voice, "What do you want now?"
"I want to help you."
"So, you need me to do something for you. Just tell me, I can't stand it when others beat around the bushes," Lisa said coldly.
"Ahem..." Mr. Oh lightly coughed in embarrassment.
Lisa was sure diligent; she always figured out his motives...
"Here's the thing, your sister, Nancy..."
"She's not my sister." Lisa corrected him.
"Fine, fine... Anyways, it's Nancy's fault for being too rude to you last time. I've already taught her a lesson, and she knows that she's wrong. You're older than her, so you need to be more understanding. After all, we're a family," Mr. Oh advised earnestly.
"Mr. Oh, please get to the point," Lisa said as she ate.
"Sehun told me that you are friends with Jimin, so I was thinking, could you introduce Nancy to him?"
"Haha... you sure can dream." Lisa looked up and smiled coldly at him.
"The Park Family is century-old royalty. Everyone wants to become in-laws with a family like theirs. Nancy may be preposterous, but she's still innocent at heart. If Jimin falls for her, you'll have a sturdy wall to lean on in the future as well, won't you?"
"You... want me... to introduce that idiot Nancy to Jimin?" Lisa asked again.
Before Mr. Oh had the opportunity to answer, Lisa continued, "Aren't you afraid that she'll die a nasty death? If it was her, I promise that Jimin will rip her into shreds in three days."
"You're exaggerating, right?" Mr. Oh was embarrassed and believed that Lisa was making too big a deal out of things.
"Kudos to you for asking this of me before even doing your homework... First, Jimin and I aren't friends, my words don't mean crap to him, and he won't do me this favor. Second, Jimin doesn't like ditzy and stupid women, and Nancy fits that profile. Plus, I don't think he like women who have a really messy private life. You may not have noticed, but recently, your baby daughter has been messing around with people that she shouldn't be. You may be ignorant, but that doesn't mean Jimin is. What if he gets pissed off when I ask him to meet her? Aren't you afraid that he'll vent his anger out on the Oh Corporation?"
"Oh... is that so?" Mr. Oh was only thinking about company benefits and never paid much attention to what his daughter had been doing every day.
But Lisa did...
Nancy often appeared on entertainment headlines; they exposed photos of her frequenting nightclubs with heavy makeup on and getting intimate with a bunch of different guys.
If Jimin liked someone like her, not only he but also his entire family would be out of their minds...
"Thank you for standing up for me, but I'm sorry, I can't help you with this," Lisa immediately declined.
Was he kidding her? If Lis introduced Nancy to Jimin, with his dynamite temper, he would chop not only Nancy, but also herself, into a million pieces.
"Then... what about this, ask Jungkook to come out and meet me for tea sometimes. I want to talk about potential collaborations with him." Unwilling to give up after a failed first attempt, Mr. Oh voiced his second demand.
Lisa almost spat out the soup she had in her mouth; she was truly disgusted by this man...
He was probably the most utilitarian man on this planet...
Why in the world would her mother ever fall in love with a man like that?
"What do you think? This should be an easy task for you," Mr. Oh said as he glanced at Lisa.
"Um... I'll find a time to arrange this, but I'd like to make something clear... I'm only responsible for arranging your meeting, but it's up to my husband to decide whether he wants to collaborate with you."
"Of course." Mr. Oh was satisfied with the results.
"Oh, and... in the future, don't meddle in my personal matters without my approval," Lisa said coldly.
Just as Mr. Oh was about to say something, her mother came out with a bowl of soup...
"Drink it while it's hot."
"Okay." Lisa nodded.
"What were you guys just talking about?" Her mother asked.
"We... talked about Lisa's childhood. The truth is, I wasn't a good father to her. With Lisa's talents, she could have attended a reputable university. If she did, Mrs. Jeon and the Jeon Family wouldn't look down on her, and no one would gossip about her." Mr.Oh was good with his words; he pretended to show remorse in an attempt to win her mother over.
Her mother was really gullible, and she immediately fell for Mr. Oh's deceiving kindness ...
Lisa secretly sighed; she finally understood why her mother lost to Sooyoung all those years ago.
Sooyoung was much more calculating than her mother would ever be...
Maybe that was a good thing, because if her mother was the one who entered the Oh Family, Mrs. Oh would've bullied her to death...
Not everyone was fit to live in the Oh Family. Only vicious beasts could survive.
"So what if Lisa didn't go to a reputable university? She's a smart girl who can outperform anyone. The MDs who worked at Asan medical all graduated from prestigious schools, but so what? The hospital director still asked my daughter to help with his niece's surgery and even called her in the middle of the night for help. It's safe to say that the director values my daughter's skills. She's now famous at South Side, and I personally think she's outstanding. Those who turn white into black should go to hell, karma will get them, sooner or later."
Naturally, her mother spoke in favor of her daughter...
She went on for minutes; Mr. Oh smiled but didn't respond...
"Mom... I'm fine, don't worry about me and don't listen to what other people say. If the reporters come looking for you, don't let them in. They don't have the guts to trespass. If they go overboard, call the police, or hang out with Auntie Somg during the day."
Lisa knew that the exposure of her marriage meant that her family would be constantly harassed...
"I know, I'm fine, just take care of yourself," her mother said.
After leaving home, Lisa suddenly thought of Krystal, whom her mother had just mentioned.
She hadn't talked to her in days; had Krystal recovered from childbirth?
Therefore, she made plans to check up on her after work...
After a busy afternoon at South Side, Lisa called her.
Then, she bought a bunch of baby stuff and drove to her home.
On her way there, she was watching the news, which reported on how Soobin was cornered by reporters and bombarded with questions.
"JC has been involved with one scandal after another, do you regret signing with them?"
"I don't, JC is great," Soobin replied nonchalantly.
"JC's president's wife has ordinary background and isn't highly educated, what do you think about that?" another reporter asked.
"I think they're a great couple. You can't determine a person's success by their family background, but rather by their capabilities, okay? I hate those who slam on someone's family background, I completely support Mr. and Mrs. Jeon and am a huge fan of them."
Soobin had a lot of fans, so he was really influential...
Therefore, right after the interview came out, herds of Soobin's fans went to show their support for Lisa on Instagram.
Public pressure immediately fell toward the other side...
At this time, what Jungkook's mother had said in her interview seemed insignificant...
If she said anything else, people would curse at her for being an evil mother-in-law.
Lisa smiled... this young boy sure had the guts to take a stand.
The other stars under JC all took neutral stances because they didn't want to put themselves in the line of fire. Soobin, on the other hand, basically sacrificed himself.
Just then, she received a phone call from Soobin.
"Hello?"
"Noona, did you see my interview?" He sounded like an excited kid.
"I did."
"What do you think?"
"You're awesome..." Lisa praised.
"Haha... I don't know if I was of any help."
"Of course you were, your fans overwhelmed my Instagram and the haters," Lisa said into the microphone on her headphones as she drove.
"That's a relief... Oh, right, when I get the time, I want to go see you at the hospital. I think I'm sleeping much better now, and we can continue on with our treatment plan."
"Okay, don't worry. I've got you on my mind."
After hanging up Soobin's call, Lisa arrived in Krystal's neighborhood...
She parked her car outside the residential district and went upstairs...
When Lisa rang the doorbell, a middle-aged woman opened the door.
"Hi, I'm here to see Krystal."
"Okay, come in." The nanny opened the door to let Lisa come in.
"She's in there." The nanny pointed at the master bedroom.
Losa took the things she bought right into the master bedroom...
"Krystal."
"You're here, Lisa." Krystal was breastfeeding on the bed.
"You're breastfeeding?" Lisa was surprised because not a lot of people did it anymore, especially rich people. They usually fed their children milk powder or hired a wet-nurse.
"Yeah... the mom's milk is the best for the child." Krystal smiled.
Her smile shone with motherly love...
She had gained weight, and her face was plumper than it used to be. But her complexion wasn't that great, probably because of the late nights with her baby.
"These are for your baby." Lisa handed her the baby clothes, shoes, and toys she bought.
"Thanks."
"How much longer before you completely recover from childbirth?" Lisa sat down on a chair next to the bed and asked her as she played with her baby.
"Five more days."
"That's fast..."
"Yeah, it is. Five more days before my baby is one month old." Krystal looked at the baby girl in her arms lovingly.
Lisa looked at the baby closely; her skin was white, she was chubby, and her features resembled that of Kai.
She didn't look much like Krystal...
"Does she have a name yet?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, she does, Jung Jia. My uncle picked it."
"Jia? Yeah, that's a really good name, it's so pretty. Director Jung is good at picking names. But her last name is Jung, does that mean you're really divorcing Kai?"
Upon hearing this, Krystal's expression changed slightly. "Yeah, he agreed to divorce."
"What about your baby? Does he not want her?"
"I'm not giving her to him even if he asks me to. Plus, he doesn't want her." Krystal smiled bitterly.
"Don't worry, an outstanding woman like you will meet someone better for sure."
"That's what I was thinking."
After Krystal finished breastfeeding, she passed her baby to Lisa. "You should hold her. If you hadn't taken the risk of operating on me in the middle of the night, she would've turned into a puddle of blood a long time ago. You saved her life."
"Don't make it sound so serious. Jia is lucky and destined to be your daughter." Lisa used to work in the OB/GYN department, so she knew how to hold children. After carefully taking Jia in her arms, she played with her.
"What about you, weren't you planning on a baby? Any good news?" Krystal asked.
" Not yet, maybe the time isn't right yet..." Lisa looked up and smiled.
"What about you, are you leaving right after the baby turns one month old?"
"Yeah, we already signed the divorce papers, and once I completely recover, all we need to do is go to the family court to finalize our paperwork... I'm leaving in 15 days. In 15 days, I'm leaving this place behind me, and restarting my life in Seattle."
From Krystal's tone, Lisa could tell that she was reluctant to say goodbye...
"Don't worry, I'll come to visit you guys in the States, and you guys should come back to visit as well."
Lisa hugged Krystal as she said, "Little girl, grow up quickly so you can protect your mommy."
Krystal's eyes suddenly glistened with tears...
"Lisa... the truth is, I don't want to go. But I have no choice; my heart... has been broken into a million pieces."
"Krystal, don't cry, you need to be brave." Lisa felt awful seeing Krystal like this.
From being pregnant to giving birth to her child, she never had any peace and quiet...
"Lisa, do you know who was behind the accident that I got into?" Krystal suddenly asked hatefully.
"Huh? Wasn't it an accident?" Lisa froze for a second.
"Of course not... Dahyun was behind all of it."
"Dahyun?" If Krystal hadn't brought her up, Lisa almost forgot that she existed.
"That evil woman hated that I was happily married to Kai, because she thought that Kai broke up with her because of me. But the truth is, she's stupid. I can swear that even if it weren't for me, Kai would still never marry her because she's nothing but a whore. No one would ever want her."
"Krystal, you're still not fully recovered and shouldn't get too agitated. Take your time."
"I hired investigators to look into it. I had my suspicions, so I told them to get me a tape of the driver who hit me and ran away. You know him as well."
"I know him?" Lisa was even more surprised.
Krystal nodded her head. "Do you remember the pregnant patient who tried to blackmail you?"
"Yeah..."
"It was her husband. I don't know how, but that man began hooking up with Dahyun, and they were together for quite a while. During that time, they planned their attack on me while I was driving and almost killed my baby... Later, I went looking for that man, but they already broke up. By then, Dahyun and Kai were back together, so she dumped him. At first, he didn't want to settle and went looking for Dahyun, but she hired people to beat him up and broke his leg."
"Seriously?" Lisa frowned.
If what Krystal said was true, then Dahyun was truly an evil nut...
"Yeah, so I was thinking of seeking revenge against her before leaving the country."
"Don't be silly. You're leaving the country soon, and shouldn't risk things..." Lisa tried to convince her otherwise.
"Don't worry, I won't kill her. I won't dirty my hands with a bitch like her. I just need to teach her that what goes around comes around."
Lisa was only at Krystal's for a short amount of time and didn't even eat the food the nanny made.
It was Krystal's post-birth meal and a little too bland for Lisa's taste ...
Before she left, Krystal handed her a long, rectangular box.
"What's this?"
"Since I'm leaving, I wanted to give you something. This is my favorite surgery set. I bought it in Germany, so it's really good quality... I used it to perform countless C-sections on patients who experienced labor dystocia, you can say that I saved a lot of people. Your techniques are great, and I hope that you can use this to save more people. Of course, if you don't end up becoming an OB/GYN doctor or working in that department, this could be something to remember me by... Once I arrive in Seattle, I don't plan on being a doctor anymore," Krystal said faintly.
"You don't plan on being a doctor anymore?" Lisa looked at the set of scalpels but didn't take it.
"No, my baby's still young, and I want to be with her as she grows up... I want to open a Korean restaurant. It'll better suit my appetite anyway. I won't be able to get used to Western food every day."
Then, Krystal stuffed the scalpel set into Lisa's hand...
"Thanks." The scalpel set felt heavy...
"Lisa... bye." Krystal seemed to be saying goodbye in advance.
"When are you leaving? Send me your itinerary, I want to send you off."
"No, it's okay, there's going to be a time difference. My flight's in the middle of the night, and I'll be leaving with my family, so don't worry about me."
"Remember to call me." Lisa wasn't ready to say goodbye.
"I will... you too. I hope that one day, I'll be able to see you as a doctor...I know that you'll be an outstanding one."
Lisa smiled, but she didn't say anything.
After leaving Krystal's apartment, she saw a man walking towards her as she headed down the stairs.
"Lisa... why are you here?" Kai was here to pick up some stuff but was surprised to bump into Lisa here.
He immediately froze in his steps... They were 3 meters apart... and their eyes rested on each other.